Shark Trivia

Did You Know that Sharks Sniff Left or Right….

.….by using timing of scents and not concentration with their keen sense of smell that can detect small delays, no more than half a second long, in the time that odors reach one nostril versus the other? When they experience such a lag, they will turn toward whichever side picked up the scent first.

Research shows that sharks recognize a combination of directional cues, based on both odor and flow, that helps keep them oriented towards their pursuit. This challenges the popular notion that sharks orient themselves based on the differences between odor concentration received with each nostril.

If a shark experiences no delay in scent detection or a delay that lasts too long, such as a full second or more, then they are just as likely to turn left versus turning right.