Michigan’s favorite shark from Shark Week is a brutal one

I grew up near the Gulf of Mexico, so avoiding sharks has always been one of my top priorities. Thankfully, now that I live in Michigan, that underlying fear disappears when I take a trip to the Great Lakes.

I know I’m in the minority here, though, because America loves sharks. Even though most of the country has turned off cable TV, Shark Week is still the pinnacle of the sea and television in the summer.

Shark Week on Discovery Channel and now Discovery+ dominates screens across the country as viewers learn more about the terrors that swim the seas.

Although I don’t watch every year myself, I can see why the annual takeover is so appealing. Sharks are incredibly cool creatures and you can admire them much better on a screen than in person.

After another successful Shark Week spectacle with John Cena as host, BetMGM took the opportunity to analyze which states tended toward which shark species throughout the week.

As in recent years, Google searches for various shark species spiked during Shark Week, and some states showed more interest in others. In Michigan, our interest lies with the mighty bull shark.

Michigan wasn’t the only state gathering more information about the predator. During Shark Week, bull sharks saw a 265% increase in searches compared to the rest of the year. In addition, Michigan was one of the 15 states that showed the most interest in bull sharks. The most popular shark, which garnered the highest search results in 16 states, was the Greenland shark.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, bull sharks are one of the most dangerous shark species due to their proximity to beaches and their ability to migrate upstream.

Interestingly, bull sharks can survive in freshwater, meaning they could theoretically breathe in the Great Lakes without any problem. The problem is that if they were released into the lakes, it would be far too cold for them to stay there.