[Scott]

I have heard several times that sharks in the Atlantic Ocean still follow the trade routes of slave ships, due to the fact that they would throw overboard the many who died en route. Is this true? Is there a source that can be quoted?

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Name : Scott, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Hardaway, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Pastor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Steve27872]

If sharks were still following old slave trade routes, it would make you wonder how they have managed to survive 100 million years! Why would they continue to do this 100 years after the food source stopped? My guess is that it is either not true or the other way around; that is, trade routes followed oceanic currents, and sharks just happen to surf the same currents.

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[Sherman]

You are talking about an animal with a memory that lasts about two minutes, is dumb enough to chew on itself in a feeding frenzy so i doubt very seriously it would remember wich trade routes that slave ships took hundreds of years ago. If sharks do follow the same routes it prabably has more to do with their natural migration parterns just like birds who fly south for the winter.

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[Lenni22856]

I don't know about the bit about the sharks following the slave routes but I do know that slaves who were sick were in fact thrown overboard because the slave owners could collect insurance money that way. A famous painting by Gainsborough speaks out about this practice and about slavery in general.

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[Rose Ragsdale]

I too was told this on Saturday by a tour guide at the African-American History Museum in Detroit. He quoted credible sounding sources, but I did not write them down. He said it is one of four known instances where the actions of man created a thus-far permanent change in nature. He said an estimated 45 million Africans died and were thrown overboard from the slave ships over a period of 450 years. Given what I know about animal species, the notion seems far-fetched. But if it is true, I'd certainly like to know who can confirm it and how.

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