The great white shark is a ferocious, insatiable predator, which belongs to the class of cartilaginous fish. Representatives of the species got their name due to the snow-white shade of the abdominal part of the body. What is the way of life of these powerful creatures? Where do the white sharks live? What do they eat? How do they breed? You can get answers to these and other questions by reading our article.
Appearance
Representatives of the species have a streamlined, spindle-shaped body, which is typical for most marine predators. The animal has a white belly, which is conditionally separated from the dark dorsal part of the body by a longitudinal line with torn edges.
The size of a white shark is on average about 5-6 meters. However, oceanologists have recorded cases when these fish have grown to 10-11 meters, which is not considered the limit. The mass of the largest individuals is usually about 2500-3000 kg. Kids are born, weighing up to 650 kg. The length of the white shark at the time of birth is approximately 1.5 meters.
Such a shark has a massive conical-shaped head, on which is a pair of large eyes and nostrils. The wide mouth contains numerous rows of serrated conical teeth. The latter are formidable weapons, capable of instantly tearing large pieces of flesh from prey of any size. Five gill slits on each side of the body are located behind the head of the white shark.
The predator has two large pectoral fins and a fleshy dorsal fin. Closer to the caudal part is a pair of small anal fins and a second dorsal insignificant size. The plumage ends with a powerful caudal fin with lower and upper lobes of almost identical size.
Great White Shark Lifestyle
Social relationships in groups of such predators are a poorly understood issue. Researchers only know that females of the species dominate males. Small white sharks often suffer from large relatives, and "uninvited guests" in a certain area die from the "owners" of local depths. These predators do not intentionally kill their brethren. Bloody skirmishes can be observed only with too close contact of aggressive individuals.
Most of the time, such predators search for and pursue potential prey. White sharks sometimes stick their heads out of the water to smell the victim, which spreads much better in the air than in the depths.
Representatives of the species sometimes form groups, which facilitates hunting and protection from enemies. In such cases, sharks behave peacefully towards each other. There is always a leader in a peculiar flock. Usually the largest and most ferocious shark gets alpha status.
Habitat
White sharks are widespread in the coastal zones of the oceans. You can see such predators almost everywhere, in addition to the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The most numerous populations are observed in California, near the Mexican island of Guadeloupe and nearby New Zealand. In the presented regions, a predator, despite its aggressiveness and potential danger to humans, is not an object of hunting.
In addition to the above ranges, the habitat of the white shark are the coastal territories of the following states:
- Kenya;
- Australia;
- Mauritius;
- Seychelles
- SOUTH AFRICA;
- Malta;
- Brazil;
- Madagascar.
Migrations
For a long time, scientists believed that white sharks prefer to spend their lives near birthplaces. According to researchers, only males made migrations in search of objects for mating. However, recent observations of representatives of the species using beacons have shown that these large predators travel freely between the oceans, fond of certain places where they regularly return. At the same time, both males and females migrate with the same frequency.
The reasons why great white sharks travel thousands of kilometers remain unclear to the end. Most oceanologists agree that such behavior is due to the voracious predator, ready to the last pursuit of prey. Also, the reason for the migration of species is the search for optimal places for mating and reproduction of offspring.
Food
Young individuals of the white shark prefer to hunt medium-sized fish. Small marine mammals occasionally become prey. Large, sexually mature representatives of the species form a daily diet based on large fish, sea lions and seals, cephalopods. Occasionally, white sharks become scavengers when it becomes possible to profit from a whale carcass that is not eaten by killer whales.
Bite force
How powerful are the jaws of a great white shark? Clarification of the answer to this question in 2007 was set for the purpose by employees of a scientific laboratory from the Australian city of Sydney. Biologists got the skull of a predator and reproduced its computer model, which allowed us to evaluate the performance of an animal bite. According to the results of the study, the shark's jaw weighing about 250 kilograms and 2.5 meters in size can affect bodies with a force of up to 3130 Newtons. If we talk about predators 6.5 meters long and weighing 3300 kilograms, this figure increases to as much as 18, 200 Newtons. For comparison, the strength of the jawbite of the largest Nile crocodile can reach as little as 440 Newtons.
Breeding
Scientists have many questions about how large white sharks mate and reproduce. After all, the researchers could not observe the sexual relations of males and females. Features of the birth of cubs are also shrouded in mystery.
It is only known that these predators are viviparous creatures. After fertilization, eggs are formed in the womb of females in which offspring develops over 11 months. At a time, no more than two babies are born. Such a low fertility rate is due to the fact that the stronger and more developed calves eat the weak counterparts in the maternal womb.
Natural enemies
Creatures that can harm a white shark can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In most cases, these predators get damaged and die, fighting with their own extremely aggressive relatives. However, quite often white sharks have to engage in fights with killer whales, which are formidable opponents for them. Killer whales are cunning and savvy animals. In addition, they prefer to attack sharks in groups, attacking suddenly. The ferocity, strength and impressive size of the white sharks in such situations are almost useless qualities.
A considerable danger for these predators is a hedgehog fish. White sharks are quite indiscriminate in their choice of food. Therefore, they often attack such relatively small inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Once in the mouth of a predator, a hedgehog fish inflates a body strewn with an abundance of poisonous thorns. As a result, the shark has no way to get rid of the victim stuck in the throat, which took the form of a hard ball. The result is a slow and painful death of a predator as a result of poisoning, the development of infection or the inability to absorb food.
Relationship with man
Today, the view is on the verge of extinction. How many white sharks live in the seas and oceans today? On the planet now there are only about 3, 500 individuals. The reason for the gradual disappearance of the predator is the unreasonable, wasteful activity of man. These animals are often killed in order to obtain spectacular trophies. These usually become the teeth of a white shark, jaw and ribs.
However, most often they are hunted in order to obtain valuable fins, which have the status of a real delicacy in various countries of the world. Sharks are caught using baits or trawls. Then, fins are cut off from young predators and released. Disfigured sharks slowly die from loss of blood, as well as loss of mobility. Usually, a sad ending for them is death in the jaws of their own relatives.
These predators are quite dangerous for humans. As history shows, the great white shark, under certain conditions, can turn into a cannibal. According to statistics, only from 1990 to the present day, more than one and a half hundred cases of an attack by representatives of a view of swimmers, lovers of diving and surfers were recorded. Many contacts with a predator were downloaded for people fatal. It is worth noting that most of the sad incidents are associated with the inborn curiosity of a predator. Biting people, white sharks, first of all, try to figure out what they are dealing with. This explains their regular attacks on surfboards, sea buoys, and other floating objects.
Interesting Facts
There are some fascinating information about great white sharks:
- In times of dinosaurs, huge sharks of the Megalodon genus lived in the depths of the oceans. The length of their body was about 30 meters. Up to 8 people could easily fit in the giant mouth of such predators. Scientists believe that the creatures presented are distant progenitors of white sharks.
- The males of the species are much smaller in relation to the body dimensions of the females.
- In the mouth of such predators, there can be up to three hundred sharp teeth. The latter are not intended for chopping food, but are only used to “cut” pieces of flesh from the bodies of victims. At the same time, white sharks absorb meat in huge portions without first chewing.
- Scientists have found that these predators are able to find prey not only by smell and traces of blood in the water, but also because of their ability to electromagnetism. We are talking about charged molecular particles, which are formed during the active movements of living organisms and are "invisible" to the bulk of the creatures that inhabit the planet.
- Most people who were attacked by the species died from blood loss. After all, white sharks quickly lose interest in people, realizing that they are dealing with prey that is not suitable for food.
- Today, predator hunting is strictly prohibited in Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Malta, the United States. In these countries, these animals are classified as an endangered species.
