Bull sharks have been found in freshwater around the world: thousands of miles up South America’s Amazon, in Central American lakes and as far up the Mississippi as Illinois, according to National Geographic. The Illinois River has seen at least one documented case.
Are there bull sharks in Illinois?
Its range extends as far up the Mississippi River as Alton, Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Conservation, two commercial fishermen from Alton, Herbert Cope and Dudge Collins, caught a bull shark in 1937. Bull sharks can live a long time in freshwater.
Has there ever been a shark attack in Illinois?
Louis, Missouri, near Rush Island Power Station in 1995, and one in Alton, Illinois in 1937, according to the study. And in Illinois, newspapers reported a boy was bitten by a bull shark while swimming in Lake Michigan in 1955.
How far inland does a bull shark been found?
The furthest inland a bull shark has ever been seen in North America is Alton, Ill. Alton sits along the Mississippi River about 15 miles north of St. Louis, and 1750 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
Are there bull sharks in Chicago?
Bull sharks are known to occasionally travel up freshwater rivers, and have been spotted as far inland as Illinois.
Are there bull sharks in Lake of the Ozarks?
Two anglers fishing in the fall of 2019 hauled up an unexpected catch: a large shark. And there is actually a shred of truth to the idea that there are sharks in the rivers and lakes of the Ozarks. Bull sharks can survive in fresh water and one has been caught in the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois.
How big was the bull shark caught in Illinois?
A fisherman’s tale from 1937 sparked the researchers’ interest in bull sharks upstream after two fishermen caught a 5-foot, 84-pound bull shark in Alton, Illinois, just 24 miles outside of St. Louis. Fifty-eight years later in 1995, a fisherman near Rush Island, Missouri caught another bull shark.
Where do bull sharks live in the Mississippi River?
Its range extends as far up the Mississippi River as Alton, Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Conservation, two commercial fishermen from Alton, Herbert Cope and Dudge Collins, caught a bull shark in 1937.
Are there Sharks in the Illinois River?
The Illinois River has seen at least one documented case. Dams now keep any wandering sharks from entering the river. Like similar cases with whales, many of these Great Lakes shark sightings are merely hoaxes, Peters said, spurred by all of the attention the species gets.
Did MonsterQuest’s ‘jaws in Illinois’ bring sharks to Chicago?
But between Megalodon specials on the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week earlier this month, one title caught my eye: Monsterquest: Jaws in Illinois. Now, Chicago is home to a lovely aquarium, but the Shedd was decidedly not the topic of the re-run — rather, it told a tale sharks swimming up the Mississippi River as far as Illinois.
