Ragged-tooth sharks: Ocean ambassadors

When it comes to sharks, the "scream and panic" narrative presented by media is unfortunately the more popular one. Sharks are too often portrayed as the monsters of the sea and have minimal opportunity to prove themselves to be otherwise. This is why here at the Two Oceans Aquarium, they are given their “voice”, courtesy of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit.

If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting them yet, we’d like to introduce you to the beautiful shiver of ragged-tooth sharks housed at the Aquarium. Growing to 3,2m in length, with a lifespan of 40 years, ragged-tooth sharks are some of the most amazing species found in South Africa’s oceans.

These sharks serve as ambassadors to create awareness of their species, while at the same time providing educational opportunities for their visitors. Our breathtaking Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit provides visitors with the rare and exciting opportunity to experience an up-close encounter with these misunderstood “raggies”, as they are often called.

During your visit, you’re able to learn the true nature of these animals and why they are some of our most beloved. In our captivating Shark Alley, we provide riveting information about these and other sharks that will enlighten and amaze anyone who seeks to learn. For example, did you know that the shape of shark teeth depends on their diet? For example, fish-eating sharks like our ragged-tooth sharks have long, needle-like teeth, which continually move forward to ensure a constant supply of sharp, new teeth and result in sharks losing and replacing thousands of teeth in their lifetime. Their pearly whites can be seen clearly as they swim overhead and up against the exhibit window, which they love to do.

As a result of being slow to reach sexual maturity, as well as their inshore habits making them vulnerable to over-fishing, ragged-tooth sharks are threatened worldwide and are actually regarded as critically endangered by the IUCN. For this reason, along with so many others, the experience of visiting these sharks and learning why they should be kept with us for as long as possible is extremely informative and well worth it.

When you spend time learning, you soon realize that ragged-tooth sharks are not the fearsome animals that Hollywood portrays them as - rather they are a key part of our ecosystem and one that is, sadly, under threat by humans.