Are there sharks in the red sea

Not to be confused with the smaller whitetip reef shark, this striking pelagic species is one of the most dynamic animals you'll encounter diving in the Red Sea. Oceanic whitetips are opportunistic and inquisitive pelagic predators, and by following a few simple instructions from your dive guide, you can ensure a safe and responsible, up-close encounter with this incredibly powerful shark species. These solitary ocean goers are easily identified by their elongated, rounded and white-tipped dorsal and pectoral fins, and impressive stature - growing up to four metres in length!

This is one of the rarest and most elusive species in the region, spending most of its time patrolling in the open ocean. So, you'll need a bit of luck on your side for a Red Sea tiger shark encounter. But, that doesn't mean you won't spot one! This solitary nomad can grow to an impressive five metres in length, and weigh in at over a tonne.

Tiger sharks have a distinctive striped pattern running along their back and sides. This natural camouflage helps the tiger shark to slowly approach its prey before striking with great speed and agility.

Each year for a few short months, certain spots in Egypt's northern and southern Red Sea transform into hotspots for whale sharks.

These massive filter feeders are frequently spotted on the surface as they cruise in the shallows feasting on their favourite meal - plankton. While very little is known about the movements and migrations of these ocean giants, scientists believe that the Red Sea's aggregation is likely linked to mating, as male and female sharks appear in equal numbers. You are most likely to see a whale shark while snorkelling or on the dive boat - but they do make surprise appearances at depth, so keep one eye on the blue!

Correctly named the zebra shark, but known the world over as a leopard, this spotted bottom-dweller is most often encountered resting on the reef or sand. The leopard shark is a nocturnal species, so in most cases, you'll spot it napping during daylight hours.

But, Red Sea night divers can sometimes come across one free swimming. Similar to a nurse shark, this animal uses suction to feed, favouring molluscs and crustaceans over more challenging prey like fish. If you are lucky enough to spot one of these fascinating sharks, approach slowly as they tend to startle. And, avoid flash photography which hurt their light-sensitive eyes.

One of the Red Sea's most shy and elusive species, an encounter with a thresher shark can be a real highlight of a trip. This fascinating animal is unique in its appearance, sporting massive eyes for hunting in the ocean's depths, and a long whip-like tail for stunning its prey. Because threshers are deepwater sharks, they are usually seen during early morning dives, as they slowly make their way up towards cleaning stations.

Threshers are extremely sensitive to light and sound, so if you see one, resist the temptation to bang on your tank or use a flash for photos - you'll just scare the shark off. Now that you know a bit about shark diving in Egypt, you're probably excited to start planning your trip.

Cue the baby shark song, and start practising your underwater dance moves - you're going to need them! Remember, you should always select an operator who uses sustainable shark diving practices that don't interfere with the animals' natural behaviour. And, it's up to you to keep a safe distance to help protect yourself, and these fascinating endangered animals.

Click here to learn more about ZuBlu's commitment to conservation, as well as the organisations and projects we partner with. In addition to these major players, you might also spot silvertips, threshers, and silkies here.

Therefore, there is likely to be a relationship between natural prey distributions - fish, squid etc - and shark distributions, as the sharks generally try and go where the food is. However, if a potential food source such as carcasses have been discarded close to shore, some sharks would naturally pick up on this and opportunistically feed there. This would increase the numbers of sharks in the area, making interactions with people more likely.

In the past, shark attacks on snorkellers have been blamed on shoddy diving practices such as "chumming" - attracting sharks by throwing solid bait or pouring chum, a mash of fish oil and blood, into the water.

This type of activity aims to attract sharks such as oceanic white tips, which tend to stay out in the ocean. But Mr Fergusson said he didn't "buy" this theory. He said a more compelling argument could be a continued decline in pelagic fish stocks having an impact on the natural foraging behaviour of certain shark species.

While any degradation to the ecosystem of the local reef wouldn't necessarily affect the oceanic white tip because this is outside of its natural habitat, Mr Fergusson said this could "point to a larger issue of general offshore fishing of tuna and other big fish whittling down and influencing the food chain". In Egypt, the hunt is still on for the shark that carried out the latest, fatal attack. Mark Murphy, who runs a scuba diving holiday firm in London, told the BBC that the local authorities would probably aim to have a "quick clean-up of the area".

Over 70 million sharks a year are killed by humans and they are an essential part of the marine ecosystem. In any case, according to US-based shark expert Samuel Gruber, finding the predator or predators would be extremely difficult. The Marine Biological Association.

World War II attacks. It does not attack people, if anything, avoids contact with humans because its fiercest hunters, aside from larger shark species, are fishermen. The female tends to be more active, the male is more reserved, and more skittish.

It does not need to swim constantly for survival, so it often rests at the sea bottom. It grows to an average length of 1. The intricate motifs on its skin is quite different from the usual grey colour of shark skin. If you want a chance encounter with them, they can be found mostly in the North and the Tiran regions in Egypt.

It can reach up to 12 m in length on average, but much larger specimens are not unusual either. It can choose from a wide array of foods but it is partial to plankton. It poses no danger to humans. An alarming fact is that the sizes of caught specimens have been decreasing in recent years, which indicates over-fishing and as a result, the specie has now been categorised as endangered. The mating and reproduction process of the whale shark is quite a mystery as females and males live in separate communities.

According to scientists, it is ovoviviparous and gives birth to live pups though the young ones have rarely been observed. It can be found by open-water reefs in plankton-rich waters. The thresher shark belongs to the group of large-bodied sharks, yet it is quite timid in nature. The size of adult male and female sharks are pretty much the same. The average length of the adult male is around 2.

The longest known specimen reached 3. It is an ovoviviparous specie, giving birth to live pups. Intra-uterine cannibalism, or ovophagy, is also representative of this shark specie.

The young fish hatch while still inside the mother and start feeding on the unfertilised eggs. This results in a small litter, usually only 2 — 4 pups that are well developed, reaching 0. The silky shark can be found in all tropical and warm-climate waters around the world. If you want to meet up with them in the Red Sea, head down to Sudan, and to the southern region of the Red Sea. It is very inquisitive and it often approaches visitors. It grows in length to about 2. The heaviest specimen every caught weighed kg.

It has a robust, long body which ends in a rounded nose. This shark got its name from the smooth and silky texture of its skin. It prefers the open waters and depths of up to m but it can swim as deep as 4, m. The life expectancy of a silky shark is about 25 years. It is a good friend of divers. It is not aggressive at all and tends to approach divers up close.

It prefers the open waters and can be seen at Elphinstone, Daedalus, the Brothers in Egypt, and by the southern reefs in the Red Sea. It is about 1. The white-tip shark can be easily identified by its white-tipped round fins. Tropical waters are the usual home for this shark but you may very well run into it in the Red Sea as well, especially around Sanganeb and Shaab Rumi in Sudan.