Does the Mississippi River have sharks?

The short answer is yes. Over the last century, researchers have documented at least two bull shark sightings in the Mississippi River. One in Alton, Illinois, in 1937 and another in Saint Louis, Missouri, near Rush Island Power Station in 1995; both are exceptionally rare.



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Bull sharks are euryhaline and can thrive in both salt and fresh water. They are known to travel far up rivers, and have been known to travel up the Mississippi River as far as Alton, Illinois, about 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) from the ocean, but few freshwater interactions with humans have been recorded.

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Researchers have documented at least two bull shark sightings in the Mississippi River. Female bull sharks can reach up to 11 feet long and weigh 500 pounds.

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Between where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi at Saint Louis, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, the depth averages 30 feet (9 m). Below Cairo, where the Ohio River joins, the depth averages 50–100 feet (15–30 m) deep. The deepest part of the river is in New Orleans, where it reaches 200 feet (61 m) deep.

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St. Paul — The Mississippi River remains a healthy, clean stream for much of the way down to about St. Cloud, the river's most pristine stretch on its 2,320-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

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While there have been past “sightings,” most have turned out to be pranks or misidentifications. The reality is that the largest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior and Michigan) are extremely deep lakes that are too cold for sharks.

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Unlike most sharks, bull sharks can survive in freshwater for long periods of time. They have even been found in the Mississippi and Amazon Rivers. They prefer shallow coastal water, which means they can often come into contact with humans.

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Lake Nicaragua is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the Americas and bull sharks travel up the San Juan River and through a series of eight rapids in a similar manner to salmon to reach the lake, where they may stay for several years.

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Lake Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake containing oceanic animal life, including sharks, swordfish, and tarpon. More than 40 rivers drain into the lake, the largest being the Tipitapa River.

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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.

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The first person on record to swim the entire Mississippi River was Martin Strel in 2002. Strel swam the entire River in 68 days.

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