The great white shark of Jaws fame lives up to its
name, on average measuring 13 to 17 feet in length and
weighing about 1,500 to 2,500 pounds. At their largest,
great white sharks can measure 21 feet in length and
over 7,000 pounds in weight. Female great whites tend
to be larger than males.
The great white shark has a prominent snout, a slender
body, a strong jaw, and numerous rows of sharp, serrated
teeth. It is predominantly gray but has a white underside,
a coloration that makes it difficult for potential predators
to see the shark from a number of angles.
The great white shark is a fast swimmer, a trait that
contributes to its famous behavior of breaching. Breaching,
a sharks' emerging partially or completely from the
water's surface, is a hunting behavior of the great
white shark, who is sometimes carried out of the water
in a breach by the momentum of its lunge towards its
Also known as the killer shark, the great white shark
is a carnivorous predator, preying on seals, porpoises,
turtles, and fish, including other sharks. While they
cannot be discriminating in selecting what to attack
due to their very poor vision, great white sharks are
often discriminating in what they choose to eat, despite
their reputation as monstrous, indiscriminate eaters.
Great white sharks are ambush hunters, meaning that
they typically surprise their prey by attacking from
underneath them. They may, however, attack porpoises
from different angles to avoid detection by echolocation,
and may also scavenge on the remains of deceased whales.
They tend to hunt in shallow coastal waters, and typically
attack near the water's surface.
While the great white shark is typically not viewed
as prey, it can face danger from the orca, or the killer
whale, if both pursue the same food source in the same
area. Documented attacks by orcas on great white sharks
have shown the ability of orcas to incapacitate, kill,
and consume great whites in such situations.
As one may guess, the great white shark is responsible
for more unprovoked attacks on humans than any other
species. However, many great white attacks are nonfatal,
which can be explained by the practice of great white
sharks of "test biting" strange objects to identify
them. It is also held that great whites may mistake
surfers for seals when viewing them from below in waters
with poor visibility. While great white sharks have
attacked boats, this practice is not common.
Though little is known about the status of the population
of wild great white sharks, the species is considered
vulnerable due to the decline in numbers its population
has suffered in recent years. Much of this decline is
attributed to both sport and commercial fishing, although
the commercial fishing of great white sharks is relatively
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