Sharks are the silent ghosts of the ocean. If you’ve ever been diving or even just watched a nature documentary, you’ve probably noticed the eerie, heavy silence that accompanies a Great White or a Hammerhead as it glides through the water. It’s a stark contrast to the chatty world of dolphins or the haunting, melodic songs of humpback whales. Most people assume that because they don't have vocal cords, they don't make any noise at all. But is that actually true? When you ask what do sharks sound like, the answer is a bit more complicated than just a simple "nothing."
They don't scream. They don't bark. They definitely don't roar like they do in the movies. Honestly, the "Jaws" theme is the closest thing most of us have to a shark sound, and that’s obviously just cinema. In reality, sharks are biologically incapable of producing vocal sounds. They lack the anatomy for it. No lungs to push air, no syrinx, no vocal folds. They are built for stealth, and being loud is the opposite of stealth. But "vocal" and "silent" aren't exactly the same thing in the underwater world.
The Science Behind Why Sharks Stay Quiet
To understand the mystery of shark sounds, we have to look at their evolution. Most bony fish have a swim bladder. This is an internal gas-filled organ that helps them control their buoyancy. Interestingly, many fish use this bladder to produce sound by vibrating muscles against it, creating drums, croaks, or grunts.
Sharks are different. They are elasmobranchs—fish made of cartilage rather than bone. They don't have swim bladders. Instead, they rely on a massive, oil-filled liver to keep them from sinking like a stone. Without that gas-filled "echo chamber," they can't make the thumping sounds their bony cousins do. This lack of a swim bladder is one of the primary reasons why, when people ask what do sharks sound like, the biological answer is silence.
Evolutionary biologist Phillip Lobel at Boston University has spent decades recording the sounds of the reef. He’s captured the clicks of damselfish and the grunts of groupers. But the sharks? Usually, the hydrophones pick up nothing but the ambient rush of the current. Silence is their primary hunting tool. A Great White sneaking up on a seal doesn't want to give away its position with a chatty disposition.
What Do Sharks Sound Like When They Move?
Even though they can't "talk," sharks aren't completely undetectable. They make mechanical sounds. If you were a highly sensitive underwater microphone—or a fish with a very keen lateral line—you might hear the "crunch" of a shark’s jaws. When a shark feeds, particularly species like the Tiger shark that have to crush through turtle shells or bone, the sound is explosive. It’s a sharp, terrifying crack that echoes through the water column.
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Then there’s the sound of the tail. A massive shark moving at high speed creates a "whoosh" or a low-frequency turbulence. It’s not a vocalization, but it is a sound. Think of it like the sound of a glider plane. The engine isn't roaring, but the air moving over the wings makes a distinct noise. In the water, this is called hydrodynamic noise. Large sharks like the Mako, which can hit speeds of 45 miles per hour, create significant displacement.
Some researchers have also noted the "body slams." Certain species, such as the Thresher shark, use their incredibly long tails to whip the water, stunning prey. The crack of that tail hitting the water surface or the prey itself is a physical sound that can be heard from a distance. So, if you’re wondering what do sharks sound like in the wild, you’re usually listening for the sounds of their actions, not their voices.
The Whale Shark Exception and the Buzzing Mystery
For a long time, the scientific community was 100% certain that sharks were the "silent type." But some anecdotal evidence has occasionally popped up to challenge that. There have been rare reports from divers claiming they heard a "low-frequency hum" or a "buzz" around Whale sharks.
Is it real? Maybe. But most scientists, including those at the Georgia Aquarium who study these giants, believe these sounds are likely incidental. It could be the sound of water moving through their massive gill raps or even the sound of their massive digestive systems working. When you're the size of a school bus, your body makes noise just by existing. However, there is zero evidence of intentional communication through sound.
Sensory Perception Over Sound
If sharks don't talk, how do they communicate? They use a "language" that is far more sophisticated than noise.
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- Body Language: A shark that feels threatened will often drop its pectoral fins and swim in a hunched, exaggerated zigzag pattern. It’s a visual "back off."
- Pheromones: Chemical signals in the water tell other sharks about mating availability or stress levels.
- Electroreception: Using the Ampullae of Lorenzini (tiny pores on their snouts), they can sense the electrical fields of other living things. They don't need to hear you; they can feel your heartbeat.
Why the "Silent Predator" Myth Persists
Movies like Deep Blue Sea or The Meg love to give sharks a voice. They roar. They growl. Why? Because as humans, we associate sound with emotion and intent. A silent killer is scary, but a roaring one is "cinematic." But in the real world, the silence of the shark is what makes it a master of its environment.
The fact that we keep asking what do sharks sound like shows our human bias. we assume that all complex animals must communicate using sound because that's what we do. But in the ocean, sound travels four times faster than it does in air and much further. For a predator that relies on the element of surprise, being "vocal" would be an evolutionary disaster.
There was a study recently involving New Zealand Carpet sharks where researchers tried to see if they reacted to specific sounds. While the sharks could hear—they have internal ears and are very sensitive to low-frequency pulses—they never responded with sound. They are the ultimate listeners, not the talkers. They listen for the "struggle sounds" of a wounded fish, which sound like low-frequency thumps or splashes.
The Acoustic Signature of a Shark Attack
If you were to put a hydrophone in the water during a feeding frenzy, what would it record? You’d hear the "chump-chump" of teeth meeting flesh. You’d hear the thrashing of water, which creates a chaotic white noise. You might hear the "clinking" of teeth. Shark teeth are constantly falling out and being replaced; during a hard bite, they sometimes snap or hit each other, creating a mechanical clicking.
But throughout all that violence, the shark itself remains vocally mute. It is a biological machine tuned for efficiency.
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Does Habitat Change the Sound?
Deep-sea sharks, like the Greenland shark or the Frilled shark, live in a world of near-total darkness. In many dark environments, animals evolve to be louder to find each other (like some deep-sea fish or whales). Sharks, however, doubled down on their other senses. They improved their smell and their ability to detect pressure changes.
Even in the pitch black, a shark doesn't need to call out to find a mate. They follow chemical trails like a hound dog on a scent. This is why, across all 500+ species of sharks, from the tiny Dwarf Lanternshark to the Great White, not a single one has been found to have a voice box.
Summary of Shark "Sounds"
To wrap your head around the auditory world of these creatures, think of them as high-performance sports cars. The car doesn't have a "voice," but the tires screech, the wind whistles past the frame, and the engine (the muscles) hums.
- Hydraulic Whoosh: The sound of water being displaced by a large, fast-moving body.
- Jaw Snap: The mechanical sound of cartilage and teeth slamming together.
- Tail Slap: A deliberate physical strike against the water surface or prey.
- Gill Flutter: The sound of water moving through the gill slits during heavy exertion.
How to Experience the "Sounds" of the Ocean Safely
If you’re interested in what the ocean actually sounds like, you don't need to find a shark. You can explore the world of bioacoustics through several reputable organizations.
- Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS): This is a fantastic resource run by the University of Rhode Island. They have a media gallery where you can listen to everything from snapping shrimp (which are incredibly loud) to the various "boops" and "grunts" of bony fish.
- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): They maintain hydrophone arrays across the globe and often release recordings of "mystery sounds" from the deep.
- Diving with a Hydrophone: If you’re a diver, you can actually buy small, portable hydrophones. If you’re lucky enough to see a shark while wearing high-quality underwater headphones, you’ll realize the most terrifying thing isn't what you hear—it’s the absolute, total silence as they move through the water.
When you're out on the water or watching a documentary, remember that the silence of the shark is a sign of millions of years of predatory perfection. They aren't missing a voice; they’ve outgrown the need for one.
Next Steps for Ocean Enthusiasts
To get a better sense of how underwater acoustics work, look up "The Bloop"—a famous low-frequency sound once thought to be a giant sea monster (it turned out to be an icequake, but it shows how sound travels). You can also look into the work of Dr. Andrea Marshall, who studies manta rays and sharks; while her work focuses on biology, it highlights the complex ways these "silent" animals interact without ever saying a word. If you're ever near a large aquarium with an underwater viewing tunnel, try pressing your ear to the glass when a large shark passes. You won't hear a growl, but you might just feel the low-frequency vibration of several thousand pounds of muscle moving through the medium. That "thrum" is the real answer to what a shark sounds like.