No 65-foot Kodiak sharks have been found in Lake Michigan

Claim:

Several 65-foot freshwater Kodiak sharks have been spotted in Lake Michigan attacking swimmers.

Rating:

Rumors of an allegedly recently discovered giant freshwater species called “Shark Kodiak” have been lurking in the corners of the internet since at least 2023 dozens video quoting in intended type posted on TikTok.

For example, one TikTok user posted video on October 4, 2024, claiming that several 65-foot “Kadiak sharks” were found in Lake Michigan a few weeks ago. The footage states that “a new species … lives only in fresh water” and is responsible for numerous shark attack victims that have been admitted to nearby Corewell Health Lakeland Hospital.

However, such rumors are fictitious, as is the existence of the so-called “Kadiak shark”, so we have rated this claim as false.

Amanda Klingbeilspokesman for Michigan Corewell Health Hospitalsaid in an email: “There is no truth to the fact that sharks are attacking patients in our hospitals.”

Same, Michigan Department of Natural Resources public information officer Ed Golder said in an email: “No ‘Kadiak sharks’ have been found in Lake Michigan.”

Some species of sharks can live in fresh and salt water. According to Australian Museumonly three known “true river sharks” spend most of their time in fresh water, and all are “rarely spotted and endangered”. These include the speartooth shark, the Ganges shark and the northern river shark.

There is also no evidence that the “Kadiak shark” is real. First, its discovery has not announced mainstream media or academics. Same, Shark Research Institute — a US non-profit scientific research organization dedicated to shark conservation — does no mention “kodiak sharks” on their website. Two other indexing of sharks websites also do not a link this kind

Also, the parts of the video that mention the “kodiak shark” are animated, not actual footage of the creatures.

Other news outlets, including the Grand Rapids, Michigan, CBS affiliate Wooden TVand Detroit Free Pressdispelled rumors about sharks in freshwater lakes.

Sources:

Admin, Active Wild. “Types of Sharks: List of Shark Species with Pictures and Facts”. Active Wild, December 7, 2021 https://www.activewild.com/types-of-sharks/.

Corewell Health. Corewell Health, https://corewellhealth.org/. Accessed on October 18. 2024

DPR https://www.michigan.gov/dnr. Accessed on October 18. 2024

DNR directory listing. https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/contact/dnr-directory-listing. Accessed on October 18. 2024

Gills and breathing. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/anatomy/gills-respiration/. Accessed on October 18. 2024

Matheny, Keith. “A shark in the Great Lakes is not entirely impossible. One strange species made it all the way to Illinois.” Detroit Free Press, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/07/16/bull-shark-mississippi-river-alton-illinois-great-lakes/74383741007/. Accessed on October 18. 2024

Media contacts Corewell Health. https://www.beaumont.org/newsroom/media-contacts. Accessed on October 18. 2024

News, opening hours Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed on Christmas Day. Admission is free. General Admission Address 1. William StreetSydney NSW 2010 Australia Phone +61 2. 9320 6000 www Australian Museum Copyright ©. 2024 Australian Museum ABN 85 407 224 698 View Museum. “What is a shark?” Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/publications/sharks/what-is-a-shark/. Accessed on October 18. 2024

“Shark Research Institute”. Shark Research Institute, https://www.sharks.org. Checked on October 21, 2024.

“Shark squalene”. Oceana USA, https://usa.oceana.org/shark-squalene/. Accessed on October 18. 2024

Sharks | Smithsonian Ocean. April 30, 2018 https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/sharks.

“Sharks By Name” – Sharkwater Extinction. https://www.sharkwater.com/shark-database/sharks/. Checked on October 21, 2024.

“sharks, skates and stingrays” – Encyclopedia of life. https://eol.org/pages/1857. Accessed on October 18. 2024

TikTok – Make your day. https://www.tiktok.com/@wildsavagestories/video/7422054993076817183. Accessed on October 18. 2024

What makes a shark a shark? – Field Museum. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/what-makes-shark-shark. Accessed on October 18. 2024