Sea lamprey, snapping turtles, and blue-green algae are some of Lake Michigan's most pesky and dangerous creatures.
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Let's dive into the unique sea life that lives in this Great Lake and how it got there. Lake Michigan has a wide variety of native species, including lake trout, lake sturgeon, lake whitefish, panfish, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and bowfin.
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.
Not only is this lake massive - spanning 307 miles in either direction - but its shores also run parallel, causing unique wave shapes. The shapes of these waves are what contribute to rip tides, which are one of the most dangerous things swimmers can encounter in the water.
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.
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.
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).
About Harmful Bacteriacoli in the water along Lake Michigan's shoreline is a strong indication that the water was recently contaminated by sewage or animal fecal waste. These wastes may contain many types of harmful disease-causing organisms.
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.