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Step 1
Locate mako sharks around the world in tropical and temperate waters. Pelagic sharks, they prefer open seas but occasionally come inshore. They inhabit the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They seldom venture into waters less than 60 degrees F.
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Step 2
Identify a mako as a long, spindle-shaped shark, growing up to six to eight feet on average, although some reach 12 feet and can weigh 1,000 lb. Their coloring consists of dark gray-blue on top with a snowy-white belly.
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Step 3
Notice the mako's long, conical-shaped snout, which appears white on the underside. Makos have long gill slits and short or long pectoral fins, depending on the type of mako. Its second dorsal fin is shorter than its first, and it has a crescent-shaped caudal (tail) fin with a caudal keel.
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Step 4
Note the long, slender and sharp teeth with smooth-edged cusps. You can see a mako's teeth even when it closes its mouth.
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Step 5
Know the mako's diet, which consists mainly of schooling fish such as swordfish, tuna, herring, mackerel, porpoises and other sharks.
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Step 6
Recognize their ovoviparous reproductive habits. Gestation lasts from 15 to 18 months and developing young are cannibalistic in the womb. A litter consists of roughly ten pups, born live about two feet long.
