Amazing Great White Shark Facts

 The great white shark, also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the only known surviving species of its genus Carcharodon.

Here are some amazing great white shark facts

1. Great whites give live birth from 2 to 12 pups, and the gestation period can take up to a full year. When a great white shark is born, along with up to a dozen siblings, it immediately swims away from its mother. Born on the east and west coasts of North America, the south of Africa and southwest Australia, baby sharks are on their own right from the start. Their mother may see them only as prey.
2. At birth a baby great white shark is already about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long; as it grows it may reach a length up to four times that. The pup (which is what a baby shark is called) will live its life at the top of the ocean's food chain. But before it grows larger, the pup must avoid predators bigger than it is—including other great white sharks.
3. Many baby sharks do not survive their first year. Young great white sharks eat fish (including other sharks) and rays. As they grow, the sharks’ favorite prey becomes sea mammals, especially sea lions and seals.
4. Sharks count on the element of surprise as they hunt. When they see a seal at the surface of the water, sharks will often position themselves underneath the seal. Using their tails as propellers, they swim upward at a fast sprint, burst out of the water in a leap called a breach, and fall back into the water with the seal in their mouths.
5.  The great white shark is the world's largest known predatory fish. It has 300 teeth, yet does not chew its food. Sharks rip their prey into mouth-sized pieces which are swallowed whole. They can last a month or two without another big meal. Sharks can smell a single drop of blood from up to a third of a mile (0.53 kilometers) away.
6. The shark’s heavy, torpedo-shaped body allows it to cruise efficiently for long periods of time, and then suddenly switch to high speed bursts in pursuit of prey—sometimes leaping out of the water. It feeds on a broad spectrum of prey, from small fish, such as halibut, to large seals and dolphins. Great whites (and other species of shark) do not have eyelids and must roll back their eyes to protect them when catching prey.
7. The grey and white patterns on a great white shark is to help them camouflage, from below they are hard to see against the white light of the surface of the water, from above they are hard to see against the deep blues of the ocean.
8. Great whites are surprisingly docile for a predatory animal and you can even swim along with them as long as you pose no threat and do not panic, this does not mean you should swim with them care free, if you move around to quickly and frantically this will kick in their predatory instincts and cause them to attack thinking you are prey.
9. Great whites do not live in just one area, they are nomadic animals and can travel hundreds if not thousands of miles in just one year.They can also live from 40 to 70 years and grow around 20 feet long or more. They cannot be kept in captivity because they cannot get enough exercise in any size aquarium due to their nomadic nature and will grow overweight and eventually die.
10. Great whites are also preyed on by orcas, who use the sharks tonic immobility against them to eat their kidneys and liver to leave the rest to rot at the ocean floor.
11. Great white sharks are decreasing in numbers and are rare due to years of being hunted by man for fins and teeth, and often as a trophy for sport fishing. The white shark is often caught as bycatch by commercial fisheries and can also become entangled in meshes that protect beaches.
12. As large and powerful predators, great white sharks play an important role at the top of the marine food chain. Despite its fame and reputation, little is actually known about the great white shark’s biology and behavior.