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shark are n’t relegated to swim at random in search of quarry to chomp on . New research point two species — tiger sharks and Alopius vulpinus shark — somehow orient themselves and sail toward a mark across long distances .
It ’s not clear how thosesharksorient themselves , but they appear to intentionally travel long distance . Thresher sharks trip from under a half - Swedish mile to 1.2 miles ( 400 to 1,900 meter ) , while tiger sharks make journey of at least 3.7 miles ( six kilometre ) and possibly more than five nautical mile ( eight kilometer ) . [ Top 10 Most unbelievable Animal Journeys ]
A tiger shark.
The tiger shark ’s travelling , in finical , indicate something sophisticated is going on in the animal ’s head .
" Over those distances , it implies they have some sort of genial single-valued function to be capable to find their way around , " said steer study author Yannis Papastamatiou , a maritime life scientist at the Florida Museum of Natural History .
The researchers reanalyzed tracking data that had been collected while following tiger , thresher and blacktip reef shark for at least seven hours in unlike locations in the Pacific Ocean . The proficiency used , in which a transmitter is attached to the shark and then someone in a boat or kayak follow it , is limited by the stamina of the person doing the tracking . But the method produce a majuscule deal more detail about the animal ’s motion than data generatedby satellite tracking , Papastamatiou say .
While both Panthera tigris shark and thresher sharks demonstrate directed movement on long journeys , blacktip Rand sharks had small home ranges and did not appear to orient themselves for large - ordered series movements , harmonize to the written report , which was publish on-line March 1 in the Journal of Animal Ecology .
Since they did n’t lie with what the sharks had in brain , researcher determined whether the beast were affect randomly or intentionally by analyzing the route they took . This included comparing the length traveled with that predicted by an equation draw a like random trip , as well test each shark ’s path on different scales , from farther away to closer up .
Tiger sharks ' journeys were particularly interesting , because they drown across deep piddle at Nox , indicating they were not using their visual modality for pilotage . Smells or sounds possibly offer cue stick , but give the long distances over which the sharks traveled , those senses were improbable to be adequate .
It ’s possible the shark are raw to theEarth ’s magnetic fieldand usance this sense to point themselves for prospicient journeys , Papastamatiou said .
you could followLiveScienceseniorwriter Wynne Parry on Twitter@Wynne_Parry .
