The great white shark is a ferocious, voracious predator that 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 kind of lifestyle do these powerful creatures lead? Where do white sharks live? What do they eat? How do they reproduce? 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 the white shark averages about 5-6 meters. However, oceanologists have recorded cases when these fish grew to 10-11 meters, which is not considered the limit. The mass of the largest individuals is usually about 2500-3000 kg. Babies are born weighing up to 650 kg. At the same time, the length of the white shark at the time of birth is approximately 1.5 meters.
SuchThe shark has a massive conical head with 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 chunks of flesh from prey of any size. There are five gill slits on each side of the white shark's head.
The predator has two large pectoral fins and a fleshy dorsal fin. Closer to the tail is a pair of small anal fins and a small second dorsal fin. The plumage ends with a powerful tail fin with lower and upper blades of almost identical size.
White shark lifestyle
Social relationships in groups of such predators are an understudied issue. Researchers know only that the females of the representatives of the species dominate over the males. Small white sharks often suffer from large relatives, and "uninvited guests" in a certain area die from the "owners" of the local depths. These predators do not intentionally kill their brethren. Bloody skirmishes can only be observed when aggressive individuals are in close contact.
Most of the time, these predators are looking for and pursuing potential prey. White sharks sometimes stick their heads out of the water to smell their prey, which is much better in the air than in the depths.
Representatives of the species sometimes form groups, which makes it easier to hunt and protect from enemies. In suchcases, sharks behave peacefully towards each other. In a kind of flock there is always a leader. Usually the largest and most ferocious shark gets alpha status.
Habitat
White sharks are widespread in coastal areas 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 near New Zealand. In the presented regions, the predator, despite its aggressiveness and potential danger to humans, is not an object of hunting.
In addition to the above habitats, the habitat of the white shark is the coastal areas of the following states:
- Kenya;
- Australia;
- Mauritius;
- Seychelles;
- South Africa;
- M alta;
- Brazil;
- Madagascar.
Migrations
For a long time, scientists believed that white sharks preferred to spend their entire lives near their birthplaces. According to the researchers, only males made migrations in search of objects for mating. However, recent observations of the species using beacons have shown that these large predators travel freely between oceans, choosing 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 miles remain unclear. Majorityoceanologists agree that such behavior is due to the insatiability of a predator, ready to pursue prey to the last. Also, the reason for the migration of representatives of the species is the search for optimal places for mating and reproduction of offspring.
Food
Young white sharks 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, and cephalopods. Occasionally, white sharks become scavengers when the opportunity arises to feed on half-eaten whale carcasses.
Bite Force
How powerful are the jaws of a great white shark? Finding out the answer to this question in 2007 was set as a goal by employees of a scientific laboratory from the Australian city of Sydney. Biologists obtained the predator's skull and reproduced its computer model, which made it possible to evaluate the animal's bite rates. According to the results of the study, the jaw of a shark weighing about 250 kilograms and measuring 2.5 meters can exert an impact on bodies with a force of up to 3130 newtons. If we talk about predators with a length of 6.5 meters and a mass of 3300 kilograms, this figure increases to as much as 18200 newtons. In comparison, the bite force of the largest Nile crocodile jaw can reach only some 440 newtons.
Reproduction
Scientists have a lot of questions about how they mate and reproduce onlight offspring of great white sharks. After all, the researchers were not able to observe the sexual relations of males and females. The details 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 develop for 11 months. No more than two babies are born at a time. Such a low fertility rate is due to the fact that stronger and more developed cubs eat weak counterparts even in the mother's womb.
Natural enemies
The creatures that can harm a white shark can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In most cases, these predators are injured and die fighting with their own extremely aggressive relatives. However, quite often white sharks have to fight with killer whales, which are formidable opponents for them. Killer whales are cunning and smart animals. In addition, they prefer to attack sharks in groups, attacking suddenly. The ferocity, strength, and imposing size of white sharks are almost useless in such situations.
Hedgehog fish poses a considerable danger to these predators. White sharks are quite promiscuous in their choice of food. Therefore, they often attack such relatively small inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Getting into the mouth of a predator, the hedgehog fish inflates the body, strewn with an abundance of poisonous spines. As a result, the shark has no way to get rid of the prey stuck in the throat, which has taken the form of a hardball. The result is a slow and painful death of a predator as a result of poisoning, the development of an infection, or the lack of an opportunity to absorb food.
Relationship with a person
Today, the species is on the verge of extinction. How many white sharks live in the seas and oceans today? There are only about 3,500 individuals on the planet now. The reason for the gradual disappearance of the predator is the unreasonable, wasteful human activity. These animals are often killed in order to obtain spectacular trophies. These are usually white shark teeth, jaws 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 the fins are cut off from young predators and released. Mutilated sharks slowly die from blood loss, as well as the loss of the ability to move. Usually, the 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, is able to turn into a cannibal. According to statistics, only from 1990 to the present day, more than one and a half hundred cases of attacks by representatives of the species on swimmers, divers and surfers have been recorded. Many contacts with a predator were fatal for people. It is worth noting that most of the sad incidents are associated with the innate curiosity of the predator. bitingpeople, 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 facts about great white sharks:
- In the time of dinosaurs, huge sharks of the genus Megalodon lived in the depths of the oceans. Their body length was about 30 meters. In the giant mouth of such predators, up to 8 people could easily fit. Scientists believe that the creatures presented are distant ancestors of white sharks.
- Male representatives of the species are much smaller in relation to the dimensions of the body of females.
- In the mouth of such predators there can be up to three hundred sharp teeth. The latter are not intended for grinding food, but are only used to "cut" pieces of flesh from the bodies of the victims. At the same time, white sharks absorb meat in huge portions, without chewing.
- Scientists have found that these predators are able to find prey not only by the smell and traces of blood in the water, but also due to the ability to electromagnetism. We are talking about charged molecular particles that are formed during the active movements of living organisms and are "invisible" to the bulk of the creatures inhabiting the planet.
- Most of the people attacked by members of 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, M alta, the United States. In these countries, these animals are classified as an endangered species.
In closing
The Great White Shark is a unique animal that can inspire not only quivering horror on a person, but also cause real admiration. No wonder, because the shark is one of the largest, fiercest and most adaptable predators on the planet. It is sad that large specimens are being recorded by oceanologists less and less these days. Given the fact presented, scientists are hinting at the likelihood of the complete extinction of the species in the near future if people do not do everything possible to protect and preserve the animal.
