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A Shark’s Sense of Smell

animals.howstuffworks.com

It’s unusual for people to have an incredible sense of smell. In the perfume industry, these people are called "noses." But in reality, you don't smell with your nose, you smell with your brain. Our sense of smell increases until we’re about eight years old, then plateaus and declines as we age. Yet even the best "noses" pale in comparison to others in the Animal Kingdom.

Any guess as to whose sense of smell is among the best? Is it the bloodhound? The truffle-hunting pig? The answer may surprise you. To find out, you're going to have to leave the land, grab your scuba gear and get in the water, for the holder of this distinction is the shark, the bloodhound of the sea.

As chief executive officer, John Racanelli leads a team of 600 full and part-time employees and 1,000 volunteers in pursuing the National Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. More than 1.5 million people annually visit the Aquarium’s venue in Baltimore, Maryland, while millions more are touched by the Aquarium’s education programs, outreach activities, social media campaigns and conservation initiatives.