The Lake Sturgeon - Michigan's Biggest CreatureYou may be a little startled if it decides to swim past your feet, as the Lake Sturgeon is rather big in size. On average, they can be anywhere between six and three feet in length. They will also weigh anywhere between 30-100lbs.
You won't find much in the way that will leave you wanting to stay out of the waters here in the Great Lakes. The description of the biggest predator in the Great Lakes may drive you to at least do it during the day if anything... Michigan's biggest predator in the Great Lakes is a Sea Lamprey.
Two Coho fishermen pulled a 29-inch shark from Lake Michigan about two miles off the Milwaukee shore on April 25, 1969. The shark was dead, but for several days fishermen in the area were uneasy.
Yes, Michigan does have freshwater jellyfish; here's what to know from the DNR. Freshwater jellyfish can be found in most Michigan lakes and streams, and are most frequently spotted in lakes in the late summer and early fall.
In northeastern Ohio and Michigan folklore, Bessie is a name given to a lake monster in Lake Erie, also known as South Bay Bessie or simply The Lake Erie Monster.
Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are the primary apex predators in pelagic Lake Michigan and patterns in their prey selection (by species and size) may strongly influence pelagic prey fish communities in any given year.
There are some odd geological finds at the bottom, including a 2007 archeological find that was described as Stonehenge-like, although it was actually more in a V-shape. One of the stones is said to have a mastodon image on it (although it's not fully clear if it was man-made or just a natural formation).
Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan University, discovered a prehistoric structure about 40 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan in Grand Traverse Bay. Much like a smaller version of England's Stonehenge, these stones appeared to have been arranged deliberately.
A few even submitted the issue to Snopes.com, debunkers of urban legends, which investigated the issue last summer and pronounced that stories of whales in Lake Michigan are the result of “mistakes, pranks and hoaxes.”
At the bottom of Lake Michigan, you will find non-fish inhabitants of the lake, such as worms, mollusks, amphipods, and insect larvae. These small creatures provide food for non-native fish such as whitefish, round goby, and perch.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, for example, describes them as “vast inland freshwater seas.” A seminal 2017 paper in Limnology and Oceanography, authored by some of the most influential researchers studying the lakes, also refers to them as 'inland seas.
It's the 'forgotten' Great LakeLake Huron is often overlooked compared with the other four Great Lakes. Superior has a reputation as the coldest, deepest and largest.
Alligators are rarely found in the Great Lakes. Although some alligators thrive in freshwater, it's just too cold in the north for them to survive. They don't typically live farther north than North Carolina. It's unclear how the alligator arrived to Lake Michigan.
Invasive carp include bighead carp, black carp, grass carp and silver carp. Find out more about each of these species and about invasive carp in Michigan on each species' profile below.
Due to their nature, Lake Michigan is a freshwater lake, so dolphins cannot survive here. The marine mammal, called the harbor seals, are only found in the Great Lakes, particularly in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior.
But Bull Sharks are able to recycle salt in their kidneys, maintaining salt levels critical to its survival. Yet even the Bull Shark would not be able to make its way into the Great Lakes watershed and survive! The water temperature in the Great Lakes is far too cold for most sharks (including the Bull Shark).
1. Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua. Bull sharks travel to Lake Nicaragua by jumping a series of rapids. Bull sharks travel up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua and sometimes spend years in the lake before returning to the Caribbean Ocean.