Sharks: Everything you need to know

Celebrate Shark Week 2024 with our one-stop shop for all your sharky needs! Steve Backshall is a wildlife expert and will help guide you through everything you need to know.

Catch up on Deadly Mission shark on BBC iPlayer now!

Find out more about the blue shark - "Fins like the wings of a plane".

Steve Backshall meets the most colossal shark in our seas. Measuring up to a record 18 metres, the whale shark is not only the largest shark, but the largest fish in the world. Steve dives with this gargantuan shark off the coast of Mozambique in Africa.

Try this true or false quiz all about the whale shark!

Steve Backshall encounters the most striking shark of all; the thresher shark. With a tail as long as its body, it’s a shark with a fantastic physique.

The oceanic whitetip is an adventurer of the abyss. In the empty ocean, they are constantly on the move searching for food, relying on some vital features - their fins.

Steve Backshall looks at a shark with some sensational superpowers. The epaulette shark is a small shark that lives in shallow, tidal waters and it can do something extraordinary.

Steve Backshall meets the hammerhead shark, a shark with some seriously super senses!

Steve Backshall meets the snappiest shark in our seas. The lemon shark scours the sandy sea bed for food, but how does it get a good grip on hidden prey? Steve heads to the Bahamas in the Caribbean to dive with these feisty sharks.

The ragged tooth shark has a mouth that’s overflowing with terrifying teeth. But why does it need such gnarly gnashers? Steve heads out on a dive after dark to see these fearsome fangs for himself.

A lean, mean fish-filleting machine - the ragged tooth shark.

Steve Backshall meets the most ravenous shark in the sea, the tiger shark. Known for eating tin cans and even car number plates, these sharks are in fact perfectly honed hunters.

Steve Backshall's back with a brand new show all about sharks! What happens when Steve meets one super speedy shark? Reaching speeds of 50kph, the mako is the fastest shark in the sea.

Steve Backshall meets the most ferocious shark of all, looking at what makes the great white shark such a perfect predator, and one of the greatest hunters on the planet.

Diving with great white sharks! Steve comes face to face with a giant three-metre long great white shark off the coast of South Africa.

Great white shark breach attack! Steve and the crew use a super slow motion camera to capture the dramatic breach attack of a great white shark.

Steve plunges into the clear blue waters off the gulf of Mexico to swim with one of the most dangerous sharks on the planet – the bull shark.

On their own they're a formidable force, but as a team, blacktip sharks are unstoppable.

Steve Backshall looks at one of the deadliest predators of all time, the largest shark ever known to have lived - the megalodon!

Steve answers all these shark questions in shark chat!

Check out the videos here for busting shark myths.

Are sharks mindless killing machines?

Myth! Sharks are intelligent creatures with complex behaviours. I've spent a lot of time with the over the years and have a healthy respect for them, but also know with absolute certainty that they're not indiscriminate killers and would only attack a human if they felt threatened or mistook them for their natural prey.

Are all sharks big and scary?

Myth! Sharks vary in size. Some are huge and can be as long as a bus, but others are no bigger than your pet guinea pig!

Do all sharks have sharp, pointy teeth?

Myth! Sharks have teeth adapted to their individual diets. While some species like lemon sharks do indeed have pointed teeth to help catch their slippery prey, other species like the whale shark are filter feeders, and have no sharp teeth at all.

Are sharks only found in the ocean?

Myth! Most sharks live in the sea, but bull sharks have adapted to thrive in both fresh and saltwater. They use the murkier waters of the river channels to ambush their prey and even other sharks. Some species, like the epaulette shark, have even evolved to walk on land, meaning they can move from rock pool to rock pool in search of a tasty snack.

Do all sharks look alike?

Myth! Sharks come in all different shapes and colours. Some species, like wobbegongs, have intricate patterns and colouration to help them camouflage into their surroundings. This makes them incredible ambush predators.

Do sharks have silky, smooth skin?

Myth! Sharkskin actually feels like sandpaper, because it's made up of tiny, leaflike structures known as dermal denticles, and it's thought this makes them more streamlined in the water.

Do sharks stalk the shallow coastlines?

Myth! While some sharks can be found near the coast, many prefer the open ocean and some can even be found living thousands of metres below the surface. With no light to penetrate the dark depths, some species of shark can even glow.

Can sharks can smell a drop of blood from a mile away?

Myth! Sharks will only detect a scent if it's carried by ocean currents towards them. Even then, plenty of studies have shown that human blood isn't a scent they associate with food. So no, if you jump in the ocean with a cut, chances are you won't be starting a shark feeding frenzy.

If sharks went extinct, it wouldn't affect me, would it?

The biggest myth of all! One third of sharks and rays species face extinction. As apex predators at the top of the food chain, losing them from the environment would have far reaching consequences and could imbalance the entire ocean ecosystem.