Long hot sunny days spent lazing around our Kiwi beaches are a true sign that summer is here. However, for some of us the second we dip our toe in the ocean, that haunting theme tune to Jaws begins playing in the back of our minds. There have already been
Sniffing around to find a way home
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Sometimes the Jaws theme song pops into your head when popping out for a summer swim. Photo / Supplied
The researchers found sharks with blocked noses ended up swimming around in circles and didn't seem to have a sense of which way was home, making it only 37.2 per cent of the way back to shore after four hours of swimming. The freely sniffing sharks took a direct path towards the shore and made it 62.6 per cent closer to home within the same timeframe, indicating that either smell is used for navigation, or sharks with cotton-filled nostrils are too stressed to go home. Although only leopard sharks were tested, many coastal migrating sharks have larger olfactory bulbs than expected for their size, suggesting smell is really important.
If you are worried that a local shark is likely to sniff you out during your sunset paddle, then you are probably right. With only 13 fatal shark attacks documented in New Zealand over the past 170 years, chances are it sniffed you miles away and is swimming off in the opposite direction. Data shows that us ocean lovers should be much more scared of drowning than being mauled by a shark, but if you do see one and it has cotton wool up its nose, don't panic, it's probably just for science.
Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nanogirl, is an Auckland University nanotechnologist who is passionate about getting Kiwis hooked on science.