Sharks can hear nearly 250 feet away and pinpoint the source

Wild blacktip sharks can detect low-frequency sounds from nearly 250 feet away, according to experiments conducted off the Florida coast. The sharks not only heard the sounds but sharply changed direction away from them, suggesting they could pinpoint where they were coming from. Sharks can hear nearly 250 feet away and pinpoint the source.

Noise produced by prey, predators, and other animals may provide important information about the surrounding environment. Yet scientists have had little direct evidence showing just how far a shark swimming freely in the ocean can hear, or whether it can tell where a distant sound originated. A new study from Florida Atlantic University is beginning to answer those questions.

Researchers studying blacktip sharks ( Carcharhinus limbatus) used an underwater speaker, a drone, and wild sharks swimming naturally in coastal waters. They found that the animals could detect sounds from substantial distances and abruptly turn away from the source, even when it was nearly 250 feet away. The findings, published in Integrative Organismal Biology, provide the first quantified evidence that free swimming sharks can detect and orient away from sounds in the acoustic far field.