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Step 1
Know where nurse sharks inhabit oceans. Their range is mainly in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, in coastal tropical and sub-tropical, shallow waters. They also inhabit African coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic.
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Step 2
Learn the habits of a Nurse shark. Nocturnal, they hunt actively near the ocean floor at night. During the day, they typically rest in caves, rock crevices or on the ocean floor, sometimes with 40 sharks piled upon each other. In daytime, they tend to stay in deeper waters (10 to 250 feet) and then migrate to shallower waters (less than 70 feet) at night.
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Step 3
Note that the nurse shark's mouth appears puckered. They have extremely strong jaws with thousands of small, serrated teeth. Their jaws and teeth help crush shellfish and coral. They also like to eat squid, shrimp and fish.
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Step 4
Look at their coloring, which consists of a light gray or yellowish to dark brown coloring. Their unusual tail fins can measure up to one fourth of their total body length.
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Step 5
Notice their fairly uniform size. Nurse sharks grow anywhere from 7 to 10 feet long and weigh between 200 to 330 pounds.
