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SHARKS sit at the top of the marine food chain with razor-sharp teeth and huge appetites - so it's not surprising they often bite off more than they can chew. 

The blood-thirsty creatures of the deep, who have been spotted in British waters, have been known to indulge in some VERY bizarre meals - from a horse's head to a full suit of armour.

 Sharks will invade Britain's coastlines and prowl our waters over the next 30 years
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Sharks will invade Britain's coastlines and prowl our waters over the next 30 yearsCredit: Photodisc - Getty
 Many bizarre things have been found in sharks' bellies
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Many bizarre things have been found in sharks' belliesCredit: Alamy

Sharks have hit the spotlight this week thanks to the "Shark Week" phenomenon - the Discovery Channel's annual TV event on the creatures, which starts on Sunday.

They are expected to invade UK coastlines over the next 30 years, as our oceans warm up and attract the deadly creatures from other regions, like the Mediterranean Sea. Only three weeks ago, it was claimed Great White sharks had been spotted off the South West coast.

But while many of us fear shark attacks, the creatures very rarely eat humans.

Because some species of shark are on the verge of extinction, scientists often dissect and study their dead carcasses - including their stomachs - to determine their cause of death.

Here, we reveal 13 of the most jaw-dropping items found in their bellies...

A bulldog on a lead

 Dogs are other unlucky animals that can turn into sharks' prey
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Dogs are other unlucky animals that can turn into sharks' preyCredit: Getty - Contributor

A tiger shark was caught in Sydney Harbour with a bulldog in its stomach - or at least, part of a bulldog (the head and forelegs to be specific).

There was even a lead still tied around the beloved pet's neck. It is thought he was perhaps having a swim when he was snapped up by a monster of the deep.

In 2017, beach lifeguards there warned pet owners to keep hold of their dogs after a mutt was pinched by a shark in the same area.

A full suit of armour

 A shark reportedly ate a knight's suit of armour 400 years ago
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A shark reportedly ate a knight's suit of armour 400 years agoCredit: Image Bank - Getty

According to 16th century French naturalist Guillaume Rondelet, a great white shark was once found with an entire suit of knight’s armour inside its stomach.

It's thought the sea beast thought the soldier was a seal - their prime source of food - and gobbled him up before realising he wasn't quite as fluffy as the shark's usual snacks.

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A porcupine

Having such an broad and gung-ho appetite has its drawbacks.

A tiger shark caught along Bondi Beach in Australia was found with porcupine spines in its stomach.

This breed of  shark - the second most dangerous after the great white - normally feeds on squid, octopus and small reef fishes like boxfish and puffers.

It's suspected this porcupine was already dead when it fell into the water but it still would have been a shock to the shark as the spines wound their way through its system.

A bottle of wine

 Hic! One shark had a taste for vino
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Hic! One shark had a taste for vinoCredit: Getty - Contributor

In 1942, a French fishing boat caught a blue shark off the coast with a bottle of Portuguese Madeira wine in its stomach.

While a shark’s stomach acid is incredibly strong, the bottle and its contents were still intact  - though it's not know how long it had been there.

With the pricey wine retailing for around £12 a bottle, we hope someone drank it...

The 5 most dangerous sharks in the world

  1. Great White Shark - found in costal waters all over the world - have been involved in more attacks on humans than any other shark.
  2. Tiger Sharks- native to the Gulf of Mexico - tend to be both curious and aggressive when they spot humans in the water.
  3. The Shortfin Mako - found in Australia and New Zealand - is powerful, fast and aggressive, and has been blamed for many reported shark attacks on humans.
  4. The Oceanic Whitetip Shark - which lives in the Amazon River - has earned a reputation for being first to arrive on the scene when boats sink. The shark was blamed for many of the fatalities related to the sinking of the steamship Nova Scotia off the coast of South Africa during World War 2.
  5. As Bull Sharks often dwell in very shallow waters - like the Mississippi River - and are territorial by nature, they may be more dangerous to humans than any other species of shark.

A Senegalese tom-tom drum

 A wooden drum is another wacky item to enter a shark's stomach
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A wooden drum is another wacky item to enter a shark's stomachCredit: Getty - Contributor

A tiger shark was caught off the coast of Senegal with a tom-tom in its stomach.

These drums are traditional in the African country of Senegal and are coated in animal skin - which is perhaps what drew the shark to eat it.

A polar bear

 The size of sharks' mouths and the sharpness of their teeth mean they can easily attack large animals
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The size of sharks' mouths and the sharpness of their teeth mean they can easily attack large animalsCredit: Getty - Contributor

If something looks like food, sharks will consider it fair game, and Greenland sharks in particular will eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths.

In 2008, one of the mega beasts - which can grow up to a staggering 21 feet - was found in Norway with the remains of a polar bear inside its belly.

Due to their size, location, and strength, polar bears are not a common meal for a shark.

But as over-fishing continues, and sharks are swimming into shallow waters to prey on seals, it is not out of the realm of possibility for a shark to attack them.

A cannonball 

 A cannonball was no match for a shark's fearsome jaws
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A cannonball was no match for a shark's fearsome jawsCredit: Getty - Contributor

In 1832, fishermen in the West Indies discovered a cannonball inside a shark’s stomach.

They suspect it was from someone who was first shot by the cannonball, then consumed by the shark.

The Caribbean is home to five species of shark - the bull, nurse, tiger, blacktip reef and Caribbean reef - meaning the waters there are some of the most shark-infested in the world.

Don't panic though, there have only been 32 attacks since the 80s.

A fur coat

 A shark with expensive taste once ate a fur coat
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A shark with expensive taste once ate a fur coatCredit: Corbis - Getty

A tiger shark was once found with a fur coat inside its stomach - looks like caviar wasn’t enough for this sharks’ expensive appetite.

We're guessing the shark thought it might be an animal - and must have been pretty disappointed to find there was no meat to munch on.

The coat was on display in the early 1990s as part of a travelling exhibition about sharks created by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in the US.

A reindeer

 Sharks will prey on many different animals
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Sharks will prey on many different animalsCredit: Getty - Contributor

A reindeer was once found completely intact – antlers and all – inside the belly of a Greenland shark.

Since reindeer are primarily land animals, this was most likely a weak animal that got too close to the sub-Arctic water’s edge - or one that was already dead when the shark found it.

Greenland sharks have the longest known lifespan of any vertebrate species, living 300-500 years.

They are known to be scavengers and attracted to the smell of rotting flesh in the water.

Although they could attack humans, the green shark live in the below freezing waters in the Arctic - so chances of them running to humans is very low.

A horse's head

 Sharks will eat anything - including horses' heads
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Sharks will eat anything - including horses' headsCredit: Getty - Contributor

It may sound like an unbelievable scene from The Godfather, but it's true - an entire horse’s head was once found inside an 11-foot tiger shark captured in Australia.

It's suspected that the horse was cooling off in the waters by the beach when the shark attacked and bit its head off.

In 2005, a 500kg racing horse was seen being dragged underwater by a bull shark while it was swimming in the Brisbane River in Australia.

A video camera

During a Stuart Cove shark expedition in the Bahamas, photographer and diver Marc Taggart wound up feeding his video camera to a tiger shark during a dive.

That's one way to get snappy...

A license plate

As humans increasingly dump rubbish, such as scraps of metal or entire cars in the ocean, parts including license plates can become tasty meals for hungry sharks.

Scientists think sharks could be drawn to license plates because when they catch the light, they glimmer like fish scales.

A tyre

Tiger sharks have small sharp teeth than can tear through hard turtle and crustacean shells.

 Rubber may seem inedible but sharks can have a taste for it
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Rubber may seem inedible but sharks can have a taste for itCredit: Getty - Contributor

Odd items found in a tiger shark’s stomach include a chicken coop full of chickens, a bag of money, boat cushions.

But even extremely rubbery and inedible tyres are no match for a shark's pearly whites.

  • Discovery Channel's Shark Week, featuring more than 20 hours of shark specials, kicks off on Sunday August 4. 
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