Great White Shark

 

The white shark, commonly called the great white shark, is one of the most iconic and feared creatures of the ocean. With its razor-sharp teeth and menacing appearance, it certainly looks dangerous. But the more we learn about this creature, the more we learn they are not indiscriminate predators, and definitely don't prefer humans as prey.

Great white sharks are relatively large, although likely not as large as they might be in our imagination.

 The

largest shark species is a plankton eater, the whale shark. Great whites average about 10-15 feet in length, and their maximum size is estimated at a length of 20 feet and weight of 4,200 pounds. Females are generally larger than males. They have a stout body, black eye, a 

  steel gray back and a white underside.  Great white sharks are widely distributed across the world's oceans. This shark resides mostly in temperate waters in the pelagic zone. They can range to depths over 775 feet. They may patrol coastal areas inhabited by pinnipeds.

The white shark is an active predator, and primarily eats marine mammals such as pinnipeds and toothed whales. They also sometimes eat sea turtles.

The great white's predatory behavior is poorly understood.

When a shark is presented with an unfamiliar object, it will "attack" it to determine if it is a potential food source, often using the technique of a surprise attack from below. If the object is determined unpalatable (which is usually the case when a great white bites a human), the shark releases the prey and determines not to eat it.

 This is evidenced by seabirds and sea otters with wounds from white shark encounters.

White sharks give birth to live young, making white sharks viviparous. The embryos hatch in uteri and are nourished by eating unfertilized eggs. They are 47-59 inches at birth. There is much more to learn about this shark's reproduction. Gestation is estimated at about one year, although its exact length is unknown, and the average litter size of a white shark is also unknown.

Shark Attacks

While great white shark attacks aren't a big threat to humans . White sharks are the number one species identified in unprovoked shark attacks, a statistic that doesn't do much for their reputation.

 This is more likely because of their investigation of potential prey than a desire to eat humans. Sharks prefer fatty prey with lots of blubber like seals, and whales  and don't generally like humans.  See the Florida Museum of Icthyology's Relative Risk of Shark Attacks to Humans site for more information on how likely you are to be attacked by a shark versus other dangers.

Conservation

The white shark is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because they tend to reproduce slowly and are vulnerable to targeted white shark fisheries and as bycatch in other fisheries. Because of their fierce reputation gained from Hollywood movies such as "Jaws," there is an illicit trade in white shark products such as jaws and teeth.

THE  GREAT WHITE  SHARK