Emperors of the deep : sharks -- the ocean's most mysterious, most misunderstood, and most important guardians

In this remarkable groundbreaking book, a documentarian and conservationist, determined to dispel misplaced fear and correct common misconceptions, explores in-depth the secret lives of sharks—magnificent creatures who play an integral part in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans and ultimately the planet. From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. But as Ocean Guardian founder William McKeever reveals, sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. The first book to reveal in full the hidden lives of sharks, Emperors of the Deep examines four species—Mako, Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great White—as never before, and includes fascinating details such as: Sharks are 50-million years older than trees; Sharks have survived five extinction level events, including the one that killed off the dinosaurs; Sharks have electroreception, a sixth-sense that lets them pick up on electric fields generated by living things; Sharks can dive 4,000 feet below the surface; Sharks account for only 6 human fatalities per year, while humans kill 100 million sharks per year. McKeever goes back through time to probe the shark’s pre-historic secrets and how it has become the world’s most feared and most misunderstood predator, and takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world and deep under the water’s surface, from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of the tropical Central Pacific, to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. He also interviews ecologists, conservationists, and world-renowned shark experts, including the founders of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, the head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, and the self-professed “last great shark hunter.” At once a deep-dive into the misunderstood world of sharks and an urgent call to protect them, Emperors of the Deep celebrates this wild species that hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of the ocean—if we can prevent their extinction from climate change and human hunters. "In this remarkable groundbreaking book, a documentarian and conservationist, determined to dispel misplaced fear and correct common misconceptions, explores in-depth the secret lives of sharks -- magnificent creatures who play an integral part in maintaining the health of the world's oceans and ultimately the planet. From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. But as Safeguard the Seas founder William McKeever reveals, sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. The first book to reveal in full the hidden lives of sharks, Emperors of the Deep examines four species -- Mako, Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great White -- as never before, and includes fascinating details such as: Sharks are 50-million years older than trees; Sharks have survived five extinction level events, including the one that killed off the dinosaurs; Sharks have electroreception, a sixth-sense that lets them pick up on electric fields generated by living things; Sharks can dive 4,000 feet below the surface; Sharks account for only 6 human fatalities per year, while humans kill 100 million sharks per year. McKeever goes back through time to probe the shark's pre-historic secrets and how it has become the world's most feared and most misunderstood predator, and takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world and deep under the water's surface, from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of the tropical Central Pacific, to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. He also interviews ecologists, conservationists, and world-renowned shark experts, including the founders of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior, the head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, and the self-professed "last great shark hunter." At once a deep-dive into the misunderstood world of sharks and an urgent call to protect them, Emperors of the Deep celebrates this wild species that hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of the ocean -- if we can prevent their extinction from climate change and human hunters."-- Provided by publisher "When Steven Spielberg released Jaws in the summer of 1975, his adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel forever type-cast sharks as bloodthirsty man-eaters. But, as we all worried whether it was safe to go back into the water, we failed to notice that while sharks account fewer than four human fatalities per year, humans needlessly kill 100 million sharks per year, which has made the species vulnerable for the first time in its existence and put the future of the world's oceans at risk. At once a deep-dive into the misunderstood world of sharks--specifically, great whites, makos, hammerheads, and tigers--and an urgent call to protect them, [this book] tells the true story about the ocean's most mysterious, most misunderstood, and most important guardians. From the family-friendly waters of Cape Cod to the coral reefs of the Central Pacific, where great whites mysteriously congregate every fall in what scientists refer to as Burning Man for white sharks, Safeguard the Seas founder William McKeever introduces us to scientists, conservationists, and world-renowned shark experts who have started unlocking the species' most closely guarded secrets. He also profiles activists around the world fighting to protect sharks and infiltrates a mako-only shark tournament in Montauk to figure out why fishermen continue to hunt them despite their declining numbers. And, to get a close-up view of these underwater emperors and empresses, he enters freely into their world, encountering the 450-million-year-old species that continues to capture our imagination. A rollicking, eye-opening underwater adventure, Emperors of the Deep will shift our perception of sharks from coldblooded underwater predators to evolutionary marvels that play an integral part in maintaining the health of the world's oceans."--Jacket From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. McKeever shows that sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. Here he examines four species: Mako, Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great White. He goes back through time to probe the shark's pre-historic secrets, and takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. -- adapted from jacket