Sharks are mysterious creatures for many reasons including the fact that they live under water and their whereabouts are often unknown. Another reason is because media attention has made sharks seem like vicious animals to the likes of which no one would want to encounter. Believe it or not there are a lot of things about sharks that we may believe to be true but in fact they are not. To illustrate, here are the top five common myths about sharks:

1) Sharks hunt human beings

There is no proof that sharks actively seek out human beings as prey. Although they have killed human beings this is not their preferred choice of prey and only attack when they believe they are threatened. Often they mistake humans for something else.

2) Sharks are stupid

Sharks are actually smart predators and their intelligence has often been compared to small mammals and birds. Considering the circumstances they are rather intelligent beings.

3) Nothing preys on sharks

This is absolutely untrue. Many species will attack and kill sharks such as killer whales. Parasites are also known to cause many shark deaths. Even sharks themselves will kill their own kind.

4) Sharks go after surfboards

This is a rather comical myth in that sharks most likely have no idea what surfboards really are. The problem here is that sharks look at silhouettes from below and surfboards, just like humans, are often mistaken as something else.

5) Sharks will kill and eat anything

It may appear to be true but sharks are actually choosy about what they eat. They prefer to get meals that are worth their time and energy. So, in fact they will not eat just anything.