Great whites use their speed and coloring to help them hunt. They search for prey at the surface of the ocean while swimming below. Once they spot a target, they use a burst of speed to bump their prey while simultaneously biting it. They have several rows of teeth that can number into the thousands. As teeth fall out, they are rapidly replaced by those in the row behind them. These sharp, serrated teeth can be devastating. A single, large bite can be fatal.
The great white is at the top of the food chain and has few threats in the ocean. Only orcas and larger sharks can pose a risk. The only other risk to the great white shark is human interaction. They are sometimes caught by accident in fishing nets or intentionally sought out by sport fisherman. Their jaws and fins are sold for considerable amounts of money
Great whites, like many other sharks, have rows of teeth behind the main ones, allowing any that break off to be rapidly replaced. Their teeth are unattached to the jaw and are retractable, like a cat’s claws, moving into place when the jaw is opened. Their teeth also rotate on their own axis (outward when the jaw is opened, inward when closed). The teeth are linked to pressure and tension-sensing nerve cells. This arrangement seems to give their teeth high tactile sensitivity. A great white’s teeth are serrated and when the shark bites it will shake its head side to side and the teeth will act as a saw and tear off large chunks of flesh. Great whites often swallow their own broken off teeth along with chunks of their prey’s flesh. These teeth frequently cause damage to the great white’s digestive tract. However great whites often feed on stingrays and swallow the ‘sting’ as well, the barbed sting often getting stuck in the shark’s guts. There are anecdotal reports of the sting working its way out through the shark’s side. Correspondingly, a tooth causes the shark no major harm.
Hunting And Diet
Highly adapted predators, their mouths are lined with up to 300 serrated, triangular teeth arranged in several rows, and they have an exceptional sense of smell to detect prey. They even have organs that can sense the tiny electromagnetic fields generated by animals. Their prey includes other sharks, crustaceans, molluscs, and sea birds. Larger whtie sharks will also prey on sea lions, seals, and small toothed whales like orcas. The species has even been seen feeding on dead whales.
Shark Attacks
Of the 100-plus annual shark attacks worldwide, a third to a half are attributed to great white sharks. Most of these, however, are not fatal. Research finds that great whites, which are naturally curious, often “sample bite” then release their human target. It’s not a terribly comforting distinction, but it does indicate that humans are not actually on the great white’s menu. Fatal attacks, experts say, are typically cases of mistaken identity: Swimmers and surfers can look a lot like their favorite prey—seals—when seen from below.
Feeding Habits
Newborn white sharks feed on fishes and other sharks. As they reach adulthood, their prey includes sea turtles, seals, sea lions, porpoises, dolphins, and small whales. Prey is usually hunted by ambush, where the shark will attempt to rush the animal by surprise and inflict a sudden and massive fatal bite. Often this initial rush is so strong that the intense impact may send the prey out of the water or will send the shark into the air if it misses the target. The sharks will retire and wait for the prey to quickly die, giving rise to the terms bite and spit or bite and wait for this method of attack. White sharks are also opportunistic scavengers and will feed on the carcasses of whales and basking sharks; however, they are not indiscriminate.
How Much Does A Great White Shark Weigh?
The weight of the largest known great white shark ever recorded in history is at least 2,730 pounds. However, there may be a possibility of an even bigger great white that can weigh as much as 5,070 pounds but it is yet to be confirmed. In 1986, a female white shark was caught off Pt. Vincente in California. It had a weight of around 4,140 pounds.
The average weight of a male white shark ranges from 1,150 to 1,700 pounds while the female great whites are heavier and weigh around 1,500 to 2,450 pounds.
How Big Are Great White Sharks?
Imagine an adult person – now triple that size. That’s the size of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The biggest great white sharks can reach up to 20 feet long, but most are smaller. The average female is 15-16 feet long, while males reach 11-13 feet. More about the great white shark can be found in our great white shark overview.
Take the size of an adult person and multiply it ten times, and you get the Giant Megatooth (Carcharocles megalodon) about the size and weight of a railroad car.
What Is The Heaviest Great White Shark Ever Recorded?
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA), recognizes the largest Great White, as the one caught in 1959, by Alf Dean in Australian waters, weighing 1208 kg (2663 lb).
How Much Does A Normal Great White Shark Weigh?
Most weigh between 680 and 1,800 kg (1,500 and 4,000 pounds), but some weighing more than 2,270 kg (about 5,000 pounds) have been documented. White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have a sharply pointed conical snout, large pectoral and dorsal fins, and a strong crescent-shaped tail.
How Much Does A 20 Great White Shark Weigh?
Adult great white sharks grow to a maximum size of approximately 20 feet in length, weigh up to 6,600 pounds, and are estimated to live for 30 years.
Which Shark Is The Heaviest?
The Biggest Shark
| The Heaviest | |
| Bull shark | 701 lb (318 kg) |
| The Longest | |
| Whale shark | 41.50 ft (12.65 m) * |
| Basking shark | 40.38 ft (12.31 m) |
How Big Was A Megalodon?
Estimates suggest it grew to between 15 and 18 metres in length, three times longer than the largest recorded great white shark. Without a complete megalodon skeleton, these figures are based on the size of the animal’s teeth, which can reach 18 centimetres long.
Is A Tiger Shark Bigger Than A Great White?
Tiger Sharks average around 10–14 feet and max out at just over 18 feet. Fully-grown White Sharks (their official name) often reach around 16 feet. … Great Whites have a much heavier build than Tiger Sharks. A White Shark will generally weigh more than a Tiger Shark of the same size.
Is Deep Blue Still Alive?
This massive great white shark is said to be around 50 years old. Many researchers say that she will continue to grow in size over time, though at a much slower pace than before. … As with most female great whites and Great White Sharks in general, Deep Blue has an estimated life expectancy of around 70 years.
Is A Whale Shark Bigger Than A Great White?
Sharks come in all sizes. The largest is the whale shark, which has been known to get as large as 18 meters (60 feet). … And the great white shark is somewhere in the middle. See photos and learn more about the wide diversity of sharks, read 5 reasons to revere sharks, and see even more articles about sharks.
What Is The Weakest Shark?
The leopard shark is the first on our list of least dangerous shark species to be utterly harmless to humans. There has not been a single report of a human being bitten by a leopard shark.
What Is The Biggest Shark Alive Today?
whale shark
The biggest known predatory species, the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), grows to only about 20 feet (6 m) long, and the filter-feeding whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the biggest fish species alive today, measures about 18 to 33 feet (6 to 10 m) from nose to tail tip, on average.
What Is Stronger Than A Shark?
In the ocean, both the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and the killer whale or orca (Orcinus orca) are fearsome top predators. But of the two massive animals, the killer whale may be the more formidable one, a new study has found.
What Is The Nicest Shark?
Nurse sharks are thought to be among the most docile sharks, and frequently allow humans to swim near them or pet them.
What Is The Meanest Shark?
The great white is the most dangerous shark with a recorded 314 unprovoked attacks on humans. This is followed by the striped tiger shark with 111 attacks, bull sharks with 100 attacks and blacktip shark with 29 attacks.
What’s The Most Aggressive Shark?
the great white shark
Unsurprisingly, the king of the sharks and frequent guest star of nightmares, the great white shark is the most dangerous, with a recorded 314 unprovoked attacks on humans.
Population And Conservation
There is no reliable population data for the great white shark, but scientists agree that their number are decreasing precipitously. Overfishing and getting accidentally caught in fishing nets are their two biggest threats. The species is classified as vulnerable—one step away from endangered—by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.