Has there ever been a bull shark in the Mississippi River?
Has there ever been a bull shark in the Mississippi River? The short answer is yes. Over the last century, researchers have documented at least two bull shark sightings in the Mississippi River. One in Alton, Illinois, in 1937 and another in Saint Louis, Missouri, near Rush Island Power Station in 1995; both are exceptionally rare.
Is the Mississippi river a dead zone?
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an area of hypoxic (link to USGS definition) (less than 2 ppm dissolved oxygen) waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its area varies in size, but can cover up to 6,000-7,000 square miles.
What is the largest shark in the Mississippi River?
Researchers have documented at least two bull shark sightings in the Mississippi River. Female bull sharks can reach up to 11 feet long and weigh 500 pounds.
Has a shark ever swam up the Mississippi River?
Bull sharks are euryhaline and can thrive in both salt and fresh water. They are known to travel far up rivers, and have been known to travel up the Mississippi River as far as Alton, Illinois, about 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) from the ocean, but few freshwater interactions with humans have been recorded.
What rivers have bull sharks been found in?
Unlike most sharks, bull sharks can survive in freshwater for long periods of time. They have even been found in the Mississippi and Amazon Rivers. They prefer shallow coastal water, which means they can often come into contact with humans.