The Great White Shark 2 Essay, Research Paper

The Great White Shark

The Great White Shark is arguably the most frightening shark to all humans. First, the teeth are almost like a knife, and they are sharp enough to saw through wood. They are probably the main reason why humans are afraid of the Great White Shark. Second, the Great White is between 12-16 feet long, and can grow up to 19-21 feet. There is another main reason why the Great White is the most feared predator by humans. Next, another reason most people are afraid of the predator is because of shark attacks. They have proved that most attacks from the shark are not fatal. Studies have also proved that the Great White is not even a man-eater. Next, the Great White is also linked to bloody murders of humans. The truth is that the shark only attacks its prey.

The majestic shark has many great features, and it is truly an amazing animal. First, the scientific name for the Great White is Carcharodon carcharias. Ragged and odon in the sharks name mean “tooth.” Second, some common names for the predator are white shark, white pointer. The shark’s name is from the jagged marks on the side of its head. Third, the shark reaches maturity around 9 years of its natural born life. The growth of The Great White shark is about 25-30 cm per year. Fourth, the White Shark has litters of about 7-9 pups. The females may only reproduce twice in her whole life. Clearly, this is the most feared shark by humans, but also a very majestic animal.

Most shark attacks occur within 100 feet of the shoreline, although it is not uncommon for a shark to attack in the open sea. Some sharks even follow the boats out to the sea. Sailors consider the sharks to be a bad omen, and sometimes they would throw one of their own men overboard to please the sharks! The shark that is most common for these shark attacks is the Blue Shark. (Prionace glauca) The people that are at the highest risk for a brutal attack by these sharks are shipwrecked men, who are just floating in the sea. They are at a much higher risk for an attack if there is a lot of blood in the area, from other dead sailors. The most common incident with shark attacks is on the USS Indianapolis. On that famous boat, 500 people died either from the shipwreck, or from a fierce shark attack.

Some myths about shark attacks show that sharks live anywhere that there is water. That is completely untrue. The only sharks that even live in water other than seas, are the Bull shark (Charcharhnius leucas) and the Ganges shark (Glyphus gangeticus). These two unique species of shark only swim upstream in rivers, along with the sea. So don’t expect to find any in your swimming pool.

The record size for a Great White caught in captivity, was set by Alf Dean. He caught his record-breaking shark in Australia. The size of the shark was 2,664 pounds, and he was using a 130-pound line. The exact spot of his catch was in Ceduna, Australia. It was caught on April 1, 1959. This shark was the largest allowable size for a catch in Australia.