Who are cookiecutter sharks, who attacked and sank catamaran off Australia?
Russian National Geographic confirmed that the hull of the catamaran was damaged and three people were rescued. Three sailors were on a round-the-world expedition when they had an encounter with the small shark. Marine biologists believe that it must have been “a case of mistaken identity”.
“Cookiecutter shark mistook catamaran”
Prof Jodie Rummer, a marine biologist at James Cook University said that perhaps the sharks mistook the catamaran to be a large carcass. She also said that these sharks spend their time under the deep sea and hunt for the ‘cookies’ from dusk to dawn. She said that these sharks travel in schools, they have limited vision, and they might have seen the inflatable catamaran with a big surface area that is soft and flat.
Why is it called Cookiecutters?
Daryl McPhee, an associate professor of environmental science at Bond University told journalists that the small sharks get themselves attached to a big animal like a whale or a dolphin and cut off a biscuit-sized chunk of flesh. They have sharp teeth, they glow and look like a pencil. Prof. Jodie Rummer said that the cookiecutter is a parasite and behaves differently.
Cookiecutters don't kill humans
There is no record of a cookiecutter shark killing a human being, but it bit a seven-year-old boy on his leg on the Magnetic Island in 2017. National Geographic reported that cookiecutter sharks attacked and damaged a nuclear submarine and exposed its electrical cables and rubber sonar domes.
FAQs
Why is it called a cookiecutter?
It is called a “cookiecutter” shark because it gets attached itself to a large animal like a whale or a dolphin and cuts off a biscuit-sized chunk of flesh.
Why did the cookiecutter sharks attack a catamaran?
The marine biologists
