What do we really know about them?
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 16 January, 2010 : - - The Great White shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as white pointer, or white death, is a large shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. However, their greatest concentrations can be found off the southern coasts of Australia, South Africa and California. It’s called a Great White because its underbelly is white. Its top is more of a greyish blue.
The Great White reaches lengths of more than 5m and may weigh up to 2,000kg. It becomes sexually mature at around 15 years of age and has a lifespan of 30 to over 100 years. The Great White shark is arguably the world’s largest known predatory fish, eating dolphins, porpoises, whale carcasses, seals and sea lions.
It is an open-ocean dweller and lives between the surface and 1,280m. It is most often found close to the surface.
Jaws, the movie and book franchise, provided the Great White shark with the image of a “man eater” in the public mind. In reality, humans are not appropriate prey for white sharks. While Great White sharks have killed a few humans, they typically do not target them: for example, in the Mediterranean Sea there have been 31 confirmed attacks against humans in the last 200 years, most non-fatal. In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning.
Great Whiye and Kayak : Thomaspeschak.com
Many incidents seem to be “test-bites”. Great White sharks also test-bite buoys, flotsam and other unfamiliar often inanimate objects, and might grab a human or a surfboard to identify it.
Other incidents seem to be cases of mistaken identity, in which a shark ambushes a bather or surfer from below, believing the silhouette is from a seal. Many attacks occur in waters with low visibility.
The species appears to not like the taste of humans, or at least finds the taste unfamiliar. Further research shows that they can tell in one bite whether or not the object is worth attacking. Humans, for the most part, are too bony for their liking. They much prefer a fat, protein-rich seal.
Accordingly, in most recorded attacks, great whites broke off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are usually caused by blood loss from the initial limb injury rather than from critical organ loss or from whole consumption.
Great White sharks, like many other sharks, have rows of serrated teeth behind the main ones, ready to replace any that break off. When the shark bites, it shakes its head from side to side, helping the teeth saw off large chunks of flesh.
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