The beginning of July not only celebrates our countries independence, but it is also "Shark Week". The Discovery Channel every year highlights sharks with programs, documentaries, and movies dedicated to these fascinating creatures. The Natural History Museum, using fossil evidence, says that sharks have been around for 450 million years on our planet.

In Montana, we don't have many opportunities to encounter saltwater sharks in our daily lives. That's obvious with us being a landlocked state. That didn't stop some people from believing that a salmon shark could have been as close as our neighbors in Idaho.

Read More: No Sharks Near Montana: Shark Found in Idaho Ruled A Hoax

In 1975 Steven Spielberg brought the fear of sharks into movie theaters across the country with the movie Jaws. To this day swimming in a lake that has a lot of plant growth, when something brushes my legs, I freak out a little. I am aware it is just Seeley Lake, but it still gets my heart racing.

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According to Bet MGM searches for different species of sharks increases around this time of year during Shark Week. With the help of Sharks.org, and Google they analyzed search traffic over the last five years and tracked Montana's interest in shark species. The most popular searched shark in Montana is Goblin Shark.

Most popular shark searches
Credit: Bet MGM
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The Goblin Shark is a rare species of deep sea shark that has a lineage of 125 million years old. Our neighbors in Idaho and North Dakota also have an interest in the Goblin Shark. Meanwhile South Dakota and Wyoming are interested in the Greenland Shark. There isn't a chance you'll be swimming with one of these sharks any time in Montana, so be safe and have fun in the water.

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