King of the Sea

Shark week phenomenon ! the whole week, we saw special videos, stories, research from experts that dedicate their lives for the study of this species,and much more; but maybe you will be asking yourself, what's so important about this ? well first of all, since a couple of years ago, a worldwide network as it is the Discovery channel, has been dedicating a whole week of their programming time to showcase this impressive and sometimes dangerous fish.

These beautiful creatures have been swimming around all the seas in the world, for millions of years, and looks can be deceiving, yes they do look scary with all those teeth up front, information like this one, we can learn more about them and how to identify to which species they belong.

The hollywood effect

The TV and movie showbiz, has been beneficial in the past 20 years or so, producing several motion pictures that have gained several millions of dollars of revenue, some of them with several sequels, most know movies are : Shark , Sharknado , The Meg and A sharks tale.

Types of Sharks

There are more than 400 different sharks around the world, but only a handful of them present actual danger to human kind, with 4 of them actually attacking head front humans they become in contact with, the number of attacks is almost indivisible, but when they do, everyone keeps talking about it, and have that in mind each time they go into the water.

Dangerous

The Hammerhead, blacktip, sand tiger, blue shark, bronze whaler, shortfin mako, oceanic whitetip, tiger, bull shark, and Great white, being the last 4 are the ones to really worry about as I mentioned before.

Even tho they have been patrolling the seas for millions of years, even before the dinosaurs, there are 13 types of sharks that are endangered, as the hunting of these has arisen over the past few years, the main consumption is the Fins, used in the making of a well known soup.

What types are there near Cancun?

Red, Whale, Spinner, porous,lemon and Bull being this last one the only one dangerous, but his hunting and mating routes are very far from any shore and coastline in the Quintana Roo area.

Swim with them in Cancun

Yes, if you want to experience something different, and have an adrenaline rush, you can swim with them, but always do it in a controlled environment, as a matter of fact, only 10 min away from the Solaris resorts, is the Cancun Interactive aquarium, where in the main fish tank you can swim ( inside an acrylic cage ) and even feed them. The trainers there are highly qualified and will give you a course before you hit the 70 degrees water.

We have talked before about Holbox, a small island north of Cancun, with charming beaches, Flamingos, lobsters and birds, you can also swim with the Whale sharks, they are very gentle and they dont mind you swimming nearby, they are also very impressive as their length is between 30 and 40 feet, and weight several tons ( not like that matters in the water), you can find them from june to september.

Isla Mujeres is another place where you can swim with whale sharks, as this zone is rich with their food: the plancton, there is actually a festival each year in the month of July to bring awareness on the treatment of the oceans, and important information about this species.

Fun facts

Baby Shark at Solaris Resorts

Last year, a kids nursery song became a trend worldwide, inciting thousands of videos on different social media platforms where uploaded daily, people like you and me, groups did flash mobs, artists also got into the hype and made their own, always staying true to the original song, Well the Solaris entertainment team, also did their own version, which you can see here, Enjoy.

There is much more information about sharks, how humans can interact with these creatures ( the docil ones ) and how to help preserve the species, hope the information has been useful, and Don't worry, there has never been a sighting of a shark near the beaches of the Solaris Hotels, the water is shallow, and it's not on its usual path, so rest assured on your next visit you can safely take a dive on the turquoise blue sea just outside our resort.