So essentially they evolved (insomuch as they did evolve - thereâs an element of magic at play here as well) to be a primarily coast-dwelling species.Â
Theyâre built to spend most of their time in the water, but they can also go on land for considerable lengths of time, and this is an adaption that allows them to hunt in both environmentsÂ
Hunting aquatic mammals is a dangerous game because it means coming into contact with other predators who prey on the same food sources and who will eat a shark creature just as soon as theyâd eat a seal, but if you can get up on land and run down a deer (as D did as a make-up gift for losing his temper) youâve got a fine source of red meat, not to mention opportunities to raid the nests of coastal birds and a lot of other options.Â
Like Willâs family eats a lot of fish because thatâs what Hannibal typically brings home about 80 percent of the time, and they do fine on that but in the normal course of things his species would probably eat a lot more red meat, but there are fewer opportunities to go on land now, and that has to do with humans.Â
As human civilizations expanded and more and more settlements appeared along the coasts, shark creatures have been retreating from those spaces. This has been a growing problem for thousands of years, because theyâre typically very shy when it comes to humans, especially the young ones. However, it really picked up at the start of the industrial revolution, which saw both a dramatic increase in human populations and - even more importantly - pollution. Â
The species had already been in a slow decline, but the modern era sped that up dramatically. Not only are we seeing villages, towns and cities encroaching on shorelines that had previously served as hunting grounds and nurseries for young ones (more on that in a minute) wide swaths of coastal waters are being polluted by sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals. And shark creatures have a low tolerance for dirty water, in more than one sense - not only does it disgust them, but spending too much time in polluted water would be to invite illness or death.Â
All of this means that shark creatures shifted away from the coasts and out towards open waters, which is an issue for two reasons.Â
The first is that, while coastlines are finite the open sea is big fucking place, so now you have reduced your chance of running into other members of your own species, which means that it is much harder to find a mate. This issue is compounded by the fact that the species has already become rare, and the result is that a sexually mature adult might spend years or even decades searching without success for a partner.Â
The second issue, however, is the biggest hit on population numbers, and this is that the already limited number of young that are produced are being born in the open water, which is not an environment that is compatible with their survival. Â
They are meant to have their children near the shore, where little ones can take advantage of the abundant sources of food and many hiding places found in coral reefs and tide pools. Young shark creatures donât thermoregulate as well as adults, so the cold water is bad for them. Worse, there is very little food appropriate to newborn creatures instinctual hunting methods, and few places to hide. The vast majority donât survive.Â
So we have lose of habitat, difficulty locating partners, and high attrition rates among offspring as the key factors that have for a long time been driving them towards extinction.    Â
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