The Great White SHARK!

Could you ever imagine eating seven, 50-pound tuna fishes all in one filling, or rocketing yourself upward in the water to attack your prey while jumping nearly 14 feet from the surface of the ocean? It may seem impossible for a human to consume 40 pounds of sushi, but it’s part of the everyday lifestyle for a great white shark! And there’s so much more to learn about these magnificent ocean predators.

Let us begin with some basic knowledge:

Scientific Classification:

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Chordata

CLASS: Chondrichthyes

SUBCLASS: Elasmobranchii

ORDER: Lamniformes

FAMILY: Lamnidae

GENUS: Carcharodon

SPECIES:  Carcharias

Where can one encounter a great white shark? You wont be finding them anywhere in captivity, but this shark has a miraculous migration pattern that extends across and throughout all major oceans in the world that are between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  Major oceans with these temperatures include the oceans along North America, South Africa, Japan, and Australia.

 

What does a Great White Shark eat? Not you! These sharks favor seals and sea lions over anything else it will eat within its lifetime.  They also eat fish, dolphins, small whales, turtles, and even other sharks mainly because sharks favor food that contains a high amount of energy-rich fats. As a young pup, the great white sharks feeds only on small fish and once it reaches adulthood it’s body needs more fat a nutrient-filled foods, such as marine mammals.  When it comes to feeding strategies, sharks are ambush hunters that take their prey by surprise by attacking quick and fast from below. Another addition to this technique is the fact that great whites will attack most often with a single bite, which will weaken the prey, and eventually it will bleed to death and the shark’s jaws will be no match for escape.

How many teeth does a Great White have?  At once? 3,000 teeth!!! and a Great White Shark will go through 20,000 teeth in its lifetime. Know this, every shark has a different set and shape when it comes to their teeth because of their diet, and since the Great White Shark is a top carnivorous predator, it’s teeth have evolved to become part of the strongest jaws on the planet. What makes the Great White Shark and other shark species more efficient hunters are the fact that both their upper and lower jaws move, allowing for a better grasp onto the prey. And unlike us humans who only go through 2 sets of teeth total, Great White sharks NEVER run out of teeth. One tooth is lost, the next tooth is moved forward. Great White have up to three rows of teeth at once and even better, they are unnattached to the jaw and are retractable! One row takes on the shape of serated steak knives for slicing, and the back two rows acts as pericing needles to prevent prey from escaping the mouth of the hungry predator. I bet any dentist would have a ball trying to look at these teeth!

How big can a Great White Shark get? World Record = supposedly42.1 Ft along the west coast of the Azores Islands! However, there are other reasons to belive that the biggest shark ever caught was only 20 feet long that was caught off Prince Edward Island. On avergae today a Great White shark reaches a maximum length of 15 to 20 feet. I don’t know about you, but I would not want to come across a shark that big while taking a swim in the ocean. That shark was an extremely rare specimen and no one has ever seen a shark that big again, but today that average great white shark can still reach some big lengths, such as 16 to 20 feet long.

How often do Great Whites reproduce? Not very often, only about 2 to 14 pups a year. Great White sharks repruduce by a process called aplacental viviparity, also known as ovoviviparity which involves the pups hatching from eggs that have developed inside the mother and once they hatch, they swim out of their mother and start a new life immediately without any maternal care. A main purpose for reproducing this way is too help protect the newborn pups from predators while still in early development. The reproduction rate of this shark species is much lower than we’ve been lead to believe and has become an issue in trying to keep the population from going extinct.

What is the Red Triangle? A roughly triangle-shaped region of ocean off the coast of Northern California extending from Monterey Bay all the way up to Bodega Bay that consists of very high populations of sea lions, sea otters, elephant seals, and of course Great White Sharks. Populations of these specific marine mammals have increased in this area over the past few years, and due to the increase in its favorite food, the Great White shark population also increases within this area. Nearly half of all recorded shark attacks on humans have all occurred within this red triangle.  This is an extremely dangerous area to be in, especially in the waters off the coast of San Francisco since it’s pretty much in the dead center of the triangle.

Are Great White Sharks in danger of going extinct? Yes, these sharks are indeed swimming to extinction. They are an extremely endangered species and recent research has shown that the population of Great Whites in our oceans today has dramatically decreased and continues to do so. What are the Reasons for this pathway to extinction? The main threat here is human activity. Unhealthy pollution to the ocean, shark finning, bycatch, and even the occasional cruel fisherman are major threats to this ancient fish. It really is a shame to know that these sharks have been living on this earth for millions of years, even before the dinosaurs, and they are being quickly wiped out by one species. They’ve survived and been through so much and now they are disappearing way faster than we thought. We can only hope that this beautiful creature will be able to have an increase in its population once again and continue living its rightful place in the deep blue sea.

More Fun Facts:

  • Great White Sharks are the largest predatory fish in the ocean
  • The average lifespan for a shark is up to 25 years
  • Color patterns of the Great White allow for advanced camouflage
  • Great Whites have significant scars on their back side from fighting its prey
  • In one year, a Great White can consume 11 tons of food.
  • Great Whites have the strongest jaw force than any other animal.