It is found in the forest, and the shark is in the sea, we all know from early childhood. But, just as wolves can live in sandy or snowy deserts, so sharks sometimes feel pretty good in fresh waters.
Of the 550 species of these cartilaginous fish, about 15-20 swim in estuaries, river mouths, and sometimes rise quite high upstream.
One of the most famous serial shark attacks on humans took place in the river. But - this is still not a typical behavior of marine predators, most time spent in salt waters. At the same time, there are some species that love coastal places more than others and often swim in shallow bays and estuaries of large rivers.
So, for example, such habits are inherent in a fairly well-known, which is also called bullish. This relatively slow and omnivorous predator is not averse to "feasting" on garbage or carrion, but at the same time it quite often attacks a person, sometimes with fatal outcomes.
Watch the video - Blunt shark:
Some other closely related species that are part of the vast group of gray sharks have similar habits. But, nevertheless, they are all sea inhabitants. Even the so-called "Ganges shark" is just a part of the population of fish constantly living in the seas and only periodically entering the river.
So are there freshwater sharks? Those who spend their whole life in rivers or lakes, and reproduce there?
Freshwater sharks exist
It turns out, yes.
Moreover, they are represented by the only species known to science. There is only one place on Earth in which purely freshwater sharks constantly live, and not just some trifle, but rather large predators, sometimes.
This lake is located in Central America and is called Nicaragua (just like the country in which it is located).
The lake is quite large (the largest in Mesoamerica). It is not far from its shores to the Pacific Ocean, with which, however, there is no direct water communication. But the San Juan River connects the reservoir with Caribbean.
There is a version that it is along this river that sea predators swim from the Atlantic.
Watch the video - Freshwater sharks in the rivers:
But today most researchers hold a different opinion. They believe that freshwater sharks have been apart for a very long time - since millions of years ago this former sea bay separated from the oceans.
But many local fishermen are sure that there are two species of sharks in the waters of Nicaragua. Allegedly, some live here permanently, while others swim from below along the river.
But ichthyologists do not confirm these stories, distinguishing the Nicaraguan inhabitants as a special species of Sarcharhinus nicaraguensis, which, however, is sometimes called the freshwater form of the bull shark.
Yes, and along the rapids channel of San Juan, it would be quite difficult to climb even 200 kilometers separating the lake from the ocean. So, most likely, the scientists are right - the predators, who were once sea inhabitants, were really able to fully adapt to the local conditions.
It is interesting that in Nicaragua, in addition to sharks, there are also freshwater sawfish, sticks and one type of large typical ocean herring.
And very close by there is another smaller lake, called Managua, connected to the first small river. So, all these sea "guests" are not observed in it!
Features of freshwater sharks
However, let's leave these riddles to ichthyologists and move on to our shark. Representatives of this variety grow up to 3 meters and even slightly more. At the same time, as already mentioned, they often attack a person. They also hunt dogs.
Earlier, even before the arrival of the Spaniards, several Indian tribes lived on the shores of the lake. Some of the local natives had it. They buried their dead in the lake, giving their bodies to be eaten by sharks.
Perhaps this was done in order to appease predators or spirits living in the water.
Sending their relatives to the afterlife, the Indians dressed them up, putting on, among other things, precious jewelry. This tradition existed for quite a long time even after the official adoption of Christianity.
One story says that one of the white settlers living nearby decided to take advantage of the situation and hunted sharks, extracting jewelry from their stomachs. As the legend says, he managed to get rich, but to take advantage of the wealth - no longer.
The Indians killed him and then burned down the house. Today, of course, is no longer in honor.
Many locals themselves. In the middle of the last century, catches were quite large, and shark meat served as a good help for not very rich Nicaraguans.
Relatives of the Nicaraguan freshwater shark enter many major rivers and shipping channels. Not far away, in the Panama Canal, one often encounters its closest relative, the blunt shark. The same predator was observed during inland waters Guatemala, Louisiana, Florida and elsewhere.
The Indian gray shark seems to enjoy attacking pilgrims in the Ganges and also appears in other rivers. South-East Asia... And yet, all these vagabonds, as well as about a dozen and a half other species, spend most of their lives at sea.
And only the gray shark from the Central American Lake Nicaragua is the only full-fledged freshwater inhabitant among all its close and distant relatives.
Lake Nicaragua is connected with the Caribbean Sea by the navigable river San Juan. Fresh water is fed by numerous rivers and streams, among which the most abundant is the Tipitapa River, flowing from Lake Managua.
At one time, when planning the connection of the waters of two oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific, there were projects providing for the construction of a canal across this lake. However, these ideas sometimes pop up in our days. The only question is the sources of funding.
Lake Nicaragua, according to scientists, was formed on the territory of the gulf that existed in antiquity The Pacific... Over time, the depression in which the bay was located lost contact with the ocean, and a lake formed in its place. However, the past oceanic connections of the lake have remained to live in its waters and often remind of themselves. We are talking about unique fish that live in the waters of the lake - the famous sharks of Lake Nicaragua. Sharks are not found in any freshwater lake on the planet, at least as permanent inhabitants. But in Lake Nicaragua, they live and live for many millennia.
Sharks of Lake Nicaragua
They learned about the sharks of Nicaragua only in 1877 and for a long time could not determine what kind of shark they belong to. Later, scientists came to the conclusion that the sharks of Nicaragua are gray bull sharks. Bull sharks are a small family of sharks, to which only eight species belong, but sharks of this family can be found in completely different parts of the world. The inhabitants of the shores of Nicaragua themselves claim that not one, but two species of sharks live in the lake - the white-bellied visitor and the red-bellied tintoreros. Only the visitor, unlike the tintoreros, comes from the ocean, so it is shallower and more mobile. What else is the difference between these two species of sharks, despite the eloquent names, none of the local residents can say. However, they are equally afraid.
Sharks from Lake Nicaragua have a very typical appearance. Dense head with small eyes, rounded mouth. The lower surface of the body is white and the upper one is gray. The teeth of the front jaw are smaller and sharper, and the teeth of the back are larger and stronger. Despite the fact that members of the bull shark family usually lay eggs, sharks from Lake Nicaragua are viviparous.
Their length is also very atypical for their family. The sharks of Lake Nicaragua are quite large and can be up to four meters long, but most often there are individuals of two, two and a half meters. Why can these fish live in fresh water still unknown.
One American physiologist suggested that this ability was influenced by the presence of urea in the shark's blood. In humans, this would cause uremia - protein poisoning of the body. However, the physiologist could not prove his theory. She also did not explain why some sharks are so eager to freshwater.
There are so many sharks in Lake Nicaragua that commercial fishing for this fish is carried out in the reservoir. Fishermen claim that they catch seven thousand individuals a year. Shark attacks on the lake are far from uncommon, so the state has appointed a reward for their extermination. Shark attacks kill at least one person every year in Lake Nicaragua. But the number of attacks is far from being limited to one per year.
Many victims lose their limbs and suffer numerous injuries, while others do not survive at all in this unequal battle. In the middle of the last century, a shark attacked three at once, while two of them died. The sharks of Lake Nicaragua are so dangerous because, unlike the sharks that live in the ocean, they come very close to the shore. Among the attacks recorded, the vast majority occurred in shallow water.
Even if some sharks live in the lake all their lives, many individuals still get there from the ocean. Scientists have long been asking the question: What attracts them to Nicaragua? While the luminaries of science are puzzling over him, the Indians living on the shores of the reservoir have long had an answer to this question. There is a legend that earlier, in order to appease sharks, the bodies of deceased tribesmen were lowered into the water, richly decorating them. The bodies were carried out into the ocean and there they became prey for sea predators. Since then, sharks began to swim further along the river into the reservoir in order to profit from the next prey.
Other inhabitants of the lake
Visitors to Lake Nicaragua are surprised not only by the presence of sharks in it. There are also some others, exclusively Marine life... This is a sawfish and even a swordfish. For fans of sport fishing, special services are organized, where for a low fee you will be provided with tackle and everything you need for fishing.
In general, fish of mountain lakes Central America predominantly carnivores, i.e. predators. This is not surprising - there is little aquatic vegetation and plant food here. Also in Lake Nicaragua there live flat-headed catfish (catfish microgran, steel pimelodus Bloch, copepod sorbium), common catfish, fish of the order of perch-like family of the cichlov family.
On the shores of the lake there are numerous large (up to 60 cm) lizards, helmet-nosed basilisks, capable of running on their hind legs even on the surface of the water. Tiger ambistomas are also numerous - representatives of the order of amphibians, resembling salamanders.
It is noteworthy that some of the fish living in the lakes of Central America, including Lake Nicaragua, are known as beautiful and unique aquarium fish that are in great demand among aquarium lovers. These include lemon and diamond cichlazomas, some types of catfish and other medium-sized fish.
The islands of Lake Nicaragua are home to 76 species of parrots and toucans.
Islands
The area near the lake is by no means deserted, in its water area there are about three hundred small and large islands, of which only a few are inhabited.
The largest of the islands is Ometepe (translated from the Indian - "two mountains"), on which there are two volcanoes, Maderas and Concepciennes. Monuments have been preserved on the island ancient civilization pre-Columbian era - petroglyphs on the rocks, depicting animals and birds, and stone idols, marking the sites of former Indian burials. Among the Indians, this island has long been considered sacred because of the volcano located on it.
Currently, there is a biosphere reserve on Ometepe (since 2010), where rare species of animals, including arachnid monkeys, live.
The largest city on the coast is Granada - the third largest city in the country (the first two places are occupied by Managua and Leon). It is one of the oldest cities in Latin America, founded by Europeans (founded in 1524). Today Granada is major center tourism.
Another large Nicaraguan city is San Carlos, located at the mouth of the river of the same name on the border with the state of Costa Rica. The municipality of San Carlos includes the island of Solentiname, which, due to its rich fauna, is a nature reserve.
Ancient petroglyphs - drawings on rocks depicting parrots, monkeys and people - have been discovered on the Solentiname Islands. The authorities of the country have assigned the status of the Solentiname national natural monument Nicaragua.
The climate on the islands is tropical with high humidity. The average temperature is 28-30 degrees. The water level in the lake depends on the rains: from December to April there is a dry season, but from May to October the season of tropical showers begins, which raise the water level in the lake.
Population
The population living on the shores of the lake is mainly mestizo, descendants of the ancient Indians. Their main occupation is the cultivation of bananas, coffee, avocados and cocoa. Plantations are located where the soil is fertilized with fertile volcanic ash, which, combined with the humid favorable climate of those places, allows for huge harvests. The traditional crafts of the people include wood carving and weaving from twigs.
What to do on the islands?
Lake Nicaragua and the surrounding islands mainly attract amateurs active rest- sport fishing and surfing.
Beach holidays are not very popular there: the sands on the islands are gray, of volcanic origin, with small shells. And swimming on the islands is not the most pleasant because of the neighborhood with sharks.
Recently, in connection with the increasing incidence of attacks by sea predators on people and animals, the Nicaraguan authorities have allowed the commercial fishing of these sharks. So now the inhabitants of the islands offer tourists such a form of recreation as shark hunting.
The islands also have their own small fishing flotilla, which allows them to serve numerous tourists - fans of sport fishing and surfing. Here, for a separate low fee, tourists are provided with all the equipment necessary for this.
- Since the 16th century, the island of Ometepe was chosen by pirates who took refuge there from the persecution of the Spanish authorities, and because of this, the local population was forced to move higher to the slopes of the volcanoes.
- The Nicaraguan shark can reach a length of 4 meters, the average length of a shark is 2-2.5 meters.
- At one time, the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal was planned more than once, which would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but these plans have so far remained on paper.
Hello, friends!
Today I will show you amazing beauty, one of the most beautiful places for me in Nicaragua) True, true, I’ll show you, because we have more impressions and photos from this place than words that could be written.
There are two places to admire today - the city of Granada on Lake Nicaragua, and Lake Apoyo with the small village of Catarina - an amazingly atmospheric place. But, before moving on to the most delicious, I suggest taking a little walk with us around the city of Granada. Precisely "a little", because we ourselves slipped through this city in a very fast period of time, or rather, we passed it. Our walk was very short and it took place in a horse-drawn carriage.
City of Granada and Lake Nicaragua
Honestly, this is, straight, some kind of rock for me, with cities named "Granada". Already the second one flies past me, or maybe it’s me flying past him. In Spain, we never got to Granada, and in Nico we also did not see the city, although we really wanted to. But, as it was said in - we know that we will come back and make up for everything, so we are not particularly upset.
In general, Granada is perhaps the most beautiful city in Nicaragua, judging by the places that we have seen. Still, even a short walk is enough to understand whether you like the place or not, and compare it with what you have seen before. In the city, we visited the central park, where we were treated to a famous Nicaraguan dish, and after lunch we took a carriage ride to Lake Nicaragua. The carriage ride took no more than 20 minutes and went mainly along the outskirts of the city. Well, that is the walk was not as long as we would like, and it left an annoying feeling of some kind of incompleteness, or something. So, unfortunately, it will not work to tell more about Granada than we saw, so I will show you a couple of photos and, perhaps, we will close the topic with this city before our next visit)
Smart horses are the standard transport for curious tourists.
View well of the streets of the city from the "carriage window
"
Famous cafe in central park Granada. This is where Vigoron should be tried
Sometimes there are also free horses. True, they look completely sad (
Apparently some kind of local attraction. But I don't know which one)
But, unlike the city of Granada itself, we managed to see and feel well the atmosphere of Lake Nicaragua, on the banks of which the city is located. To be honest, we deliberately went for a walk on the lake at the expense of time to explore Granada, it’s too famous. Nicaragua is included in the twenty largest lakes in the world, so you can imagine the size of the reservoir. For a better vision of the picture, I note that Lake Baikal is in seventh or eighth place in this rating. In different sources - the information is different.
Lake Nicaragua is known for being freshwater, but also home to sharks. Special such, freshwater and very dangerous sharks... I'll tell you right away - we haven't seen them. No matter how we looked at water surface, but not a single shark ever showed a fin. One could, of course, complain somewhere, like a real Russian tourist, but I decided to refrain.
The lake itself definitely deserves to spend your time and money on it. At least this is the first time we have been to such a huge freshwater reservoir.
Because we arrived in a large company, then immediately rented a separate boat for an hour's trip. We paid for the boat 350 cordobas ($ 13), although the amount of 700 cordobas was originally announced. The walk itself was very interesting and informative. We were not only given a ride on the lake between small islands, but also had a short excursion.
Already on the pier there are beautiful views.
It's like a jungle in a jungle, and somewhere in the bushes there is someone's tent-house)
They said that almost all the islands near Granada were bought by rich people. They use them as summer cottages. It's just that the islands are so small that only one house of some rich man can be built on them. Those. the whole island is one villa. Some beautiful villas are available for weekend rentals. Pointing to one of them, our guide announced the price of $ 300-400 per weekend. Considering that several families can accommodate there, the price is very tasty.
Each island is a separate villa
They showed us the houses of the richest and most famous and vice versa, poorer people.
Here, in the neighborhood, in the bushes, people are clearly simpler)
Brought to a small island where monkeys live. How many of them are there, I did not understand, but literally a couple of individuals came out to feed. They were fed only from the boat, because no one lands on the islands just like that.
They asked us a riddle with the participation of outlandish plants. It was really very interesting and unusual.
In the center of the photo you can see a branch on a tree. Looks like long peas.
And then we took a ride with the breeze, overtaking boats full of tourists.
As a result: a walk on Lake Nicaragua, we can put a solid top five. It was very interesting, not too long, and it was really unusual for us. Sharks would still be seen, and in general there would be no price for such an excursion)
The village of Katarina and Lake Apoyo (Laguna de Apoyo).
Perhaps, after - this is the second must-see place in the country. You may not agree, but this is definitely our personal rating of Nicaragua attractions. Lake de Apoyo is indicated everywhere on the plates as a lagoon, but people still call it "lago", that is, a lake.
I will not write a lot about this lake, not because there is nothing, but because this is such a place where you just need to come, see and fall in love! The village itself, according to the Pope, is popularly referred to as a “white village”. Why she is white - we still do not understand. Either dad confused something, or we do not know some details. The village is lovely, small, but there is nothing to see in it at all. We did not notice any white houses like in Santorini, or anything else worthy of special attention.
Lake Apoyo - my love in Nicaragua)
There will be a lot of photo-spam of this place, because I just can't resist.
Here you can take a horse and take a walk around the lake
Handsome - volcano
If you look closely, you can see what strong wind was that day. The trees just lie.
My boys were almost blown away)
There are special walking paths around the lake
I want to fly in such a place)
And Yaska is fooling around and laughing out loud)
Tourists relax and enjoy the views
Our patient guide) Photo from the thirtieth time - this is about us)
Near the lake there is a small souvenir market and various local delicacies. Those. the scheme of rest is as follows: we arrived, looked at the lake, meditated for half a day and you can leave.
A must-have souvenir from Niko - painting
True, there are other villages near Katarina that you can explore along the way. Each of the villages is famous for its own craft and sells mountains of necessary and not very souvenirs. We stopped at a couple of places to make sure of this and spend a little money. Indeed, there are more than enough souvenirs, handicrafts and even furniture in these villages, for every taste and budget. I don't remember the names of these villages, because dad just asked local where call in, and they poked a finger. I would go there with a bag of money - and I would stay there for a couple of days)
Even in the poorest and most unpretentious houses, they do and sell something
Well, a little about the lake itself. As a local elderly man told us, main feature this reservoir is the depth. It turns out that Apoyo is in the throat extinct volcano and still nobody knows its depth. The lake made a tremendous impression on me. I met reviews on the network that someone did not like it, but someone, on the contrary, advises to see only Lake Nicaragua. This just confirms once again that all markers are different in taste and color.
Perhaps it's all about the viewing angle. We saw the lake exclusively from above. Framed by forests and volcanoes, it looked just amazing. Walking along the lake hiking trail, I could not take my eyes straight from this water-mountainous landscape. In such places, I always have a question: “Well, how? How does the Earth create such beauty? "
Freedom...
And love...
I know that there are many entertainments for tourists in this place. And there are hotels, and houses for rent, and you can swim in it and go fishing. Those. you can come here and have a good rest. Personally, it would be interesting for me to live in such a place, among many forests, surrounded by local flora and fauna. But I do not exclude that such a pastime will turn out to be rather monotonous and quickly get bored. So, everything is as always, we tell you, and you draw your own conclusions)
Lake Nicaragua - the largest freshwater body Latin America... Its area exceeds 8600 sq. Km, and its maximum depth is almost 70 meters. It is located in the eponymous state of Central America, in the southwestern part of the country, almost on the border with Costa Rica. The surface of the lake is 32 meters above sea level.
1. Lake Nicaragua is connected with the Caribbean Sea by the navigable river San Juan. Fresh water is fed by numerous rivers and streams, among which the most abundant is the Tipitapa River, flowing from Lake Managua.
2. Lake Nicaragua, according to scientists, was formed on the territory of the ancient Gulf of the Pacific Ocean.
3. Lake Nicaragua ranks first in terms of surface area among freshwater lakes in Latin America and second among all lakes in Latin America.
4. Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world where sharks are found. This shark has its own scientific name: the Nicaraguan shark Carcharhinus nicaraguensis.
5. In addition to sharks, such marine life as swordfish and tarpon, which looks like a very large herring, live in Lake Nicaragua.
6. In the water area of the lake there are more than three hundred small and large islands, the largest of which is Ometepe Island with an area of 276 sq. Km. On about. Ometepe has two volcanoes - Maderas and Concepciennes
7. The largest city on the coast is Granada. It is one of the oldest cities in Latin America, founded by Europeans (founded in 1524).
8. In the middle of the XVII century. pirates passed by the river to rich Granada and besieged it three times.
9. Since the 16th century, the island of Ometepe was chosen by pirates who were hiding there from the persecution of the Spanish authorities, and because of this, the local population was forced to move higher to the slopes of the volcanoes.
10. On the island of Ometepe, there are preserved archaeological monuments of pre-Columbian civilizations - petroglyphs and stone idols - created at the latest in the 2nd millennium BC. NS.
11. The Nicaraguan shark can reach a length of 4 meters, the average length of a shark is 2-2.5 meters.
12.In July 2014, the Nicaraguan Canal route was approved between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that will pass through Lake Nicaragua. Construction began on December 22, 2014.
13. On the shores of the lake, there are many large lizards (helmeted basilisks), which calmly move on their hind legs.
14. The lake has several different names. The natives called it Coquibolca, the Spanish conquerors called the Sweet Sea, while the natives of Granada gave it the name Granada.
15. The reservoir was discovered in 1523 by an expedition of the Spanish conquistadors led by Hiley Gonzalez Avila.
Lake Nicaragua is located on the territory of the country of the same name in Latin America. It is a large freshwater lake and has a tectonic origin. Nicaragua lake area is 8624 square kilometers, and is the largest in size, ranking 20th among the lakes in the world. Lake Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world with sharks reaching a length of 3 meters. Due to the fact that the lake is located near the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that earlier the lake was located on the site of a large sea bay, which explains the habitation of sharks in the lake. 
It is still not clear how sharks have adapted to fresh water. Currently, the lake regularly hosts shark fishing championships and environmentalists are afraid that sharks are threatened with complete extinction. Locals called the lake Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce, which means "sweet sea". On Lake Nicaragua there are a number of large groups of islands, including Solentiname and Ometepe, which is popular with tourists due to the fact that it has two volcanoes. From time to time, severe storms occur on the lake, Nicaragua is connected with the San Juan River, turning the city of Granada into an Atlantic port.
In the language of the Indians inhabiting these lands, Michigan means " big lake", It is located in North America, is located in the United States and is part of the Great Lakes system of North America. Lake Michigan is located 177 meters above sea level. Its area is 58,000 square kilometers, the greatest depth is 281 meters. Michigan is connected to Lake Huron by the Makino Strait [...]
