Meet the Great White: Feared, Fascinating and Full of Surprises
Great white sharks may be one of the most recognizable predators on the planet, but much of what people think they know about them is wrong. These powerful sharks can live for more than 70 years, travel vast distances, regulate parts of their body temperature and researchers are even discovering that they may be able to change the shade of their skin. From what great whites really eat and where they live to whether they hunt humans, what hunts them, and the threats they face, discover the facts behind one of the ocean’s most misunderstood sharks.
Great White Shark At-A-Glance
Scientific Name: Carcharodon carcharias
What size do great white sharks get? Great white sharks can weigh approximately 4,000 – 7,000 lbs/1,800-3,200 km and measure around 16–20 ft/5-6 m long.
Where do great white sharks live? Great white sharks populate vast expanses of cool and temperate coastal waters with temperature ranging from 54°F (12°C) to 75°F (24°C). There are hotspots where these sharks are more concentrated such as the Dyer Island in South Africa, the Farallon Islands in California, USA, or the Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Great white sharks are spotted in other waters because they migrate to nurseries to have pups, breeding grounds to mate, or to follow their prey.
What do great white sharks eat? Great white sharks are known to hunt a variety of prey. From small fish to larger marine mammals, great white sharks are known for their opportunistic hunting habits. Juvenile great white sharks typically hunt smaller fishes and rays. While mature great white sharks prey on larger marine life such as seals, sea lions, and dolphins.
Where do great white sharks reproduce? While scientists do know that great white sharks migrate to specific breeding grounds, there has been little to no information on where that exactly is. Ocearch has conducted research that points to the waters by the Carolinas as a possible mating spot for great white sharks residing in the western North Atlantic. However, as of writing this there has been no conclusive study on where great white sharks mate because no scientist has seen great white sharks mating.
How long do great white sharks live? Great white sharks have an average lifespan of 70+ years. Scientists found this by estimating shark ages through the vertebral ring analysis method. This method requires scientists to extract a sample of vertebrae from a deceased shark and count the bands of growth to estimate its age. Due to great white sharks having longer lifespans, it takes longer for these sharks to mature and reproduce. This leaves great white shark populations to be heavily impacted through trophy-hunting, overfishing, and other threats.
What is the IUCN conservation status of great white sharks? Great white sharks are considered vulnerable by the IUCN. As of 2021, great white shark populations have been declining. Currently, scientists estimate great white shark populations to be around 3,500-5,500. Some of the threats to great white sharks are; overfishing, habitat destruction, climate change, shark finning, and entanglement in fishing lines. Other than laws, people and scientists have been working tirelessly to conserve endangered great white sharks. Shark Angels work hard to conserve great white sharks through various programs.
Are there any laws protecting great white sharks? Yes, there are many laws protecting white sharks. Different countries have different rules and regulations; and in the United States, each state has its own set of laws. As of 2023, the United States has banned all forms of selling/owning shark fins as a way to deter trophy hunting. However, there are still many countries that have not banned the unethical shark finning industries.
Photo: Marty Wolff
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Great White Sharks aggressive to humans? Great white sharks are feared as apex predators who have evolved to be keen hunters. However, they are adapted to hunt marine animals like fish or seals. They do not hunt humans. In fact, there are many articles debunking the man-eating great white shark myth. The leading theory to explain the approximately 4-6 annual global shark-related deaths is that the sharks were mistaken. Great white sharks explore their environment through their mouths. Due to human activity in their habitat, some great white sharks get curious or may incorrectly read human behaviour as the floundering of a wounded seal or sea lion. All in all, great white sharks do not hunt humans on purpose, and even when they do make a mistake most sharks will realize their mistake and let go.
What is the main predator of the great white shark? Despite being apex predators, great white sharks are still prey to other opportunistic hunters. Notably, orcas (killer whales) have been seen hunting great white sharks. Orcas are the only known predators of great white sharks; they hunt both juvenile and adult white sharks. In the Gulf of California, Mexico, scientists have observed the Moctezuma pod (a group of killer whales) hunting juvenile great white sharks. Due to warmer waters, great white sharks have had to change their nursery area leaving juvenile white sharks vulnerable to predators like orcas. The Moctezuma pod has been targeting these juvenile sharks who do not yet have the experience to flee hunting orcas. These orcas flip the white sharks upside down, which causes tonic immobility (a form of paralysis caused by changing the awareness of the shark). Then the orcas tear open the abdomen of the great white shark, and take its nutrient rich liver and other organs to eat.
Are great white sharks afraid of dolphins? Fear is difficult to ascertain in marine animals, they can’t exactly explain what they feel. However, great white sharks have been seen reacting to dolphins. Great white sharks avoid waters where dolphin populations dominate; these sharks will leave an area if they spot a pod of dolphins; scientists have seen great white sharks use defensive posturing when encountering a dolphin. All of these actions point to great white sharks actively avoiding dolphins; maybe the sharks are not afraid but they’re wary of dolphins.
Are great white sharks endangered? Great white shark populations are decreasing because of fishing practices. Great white sharks are being hunted for trophies like their fins and teeth. They also are victims of bycatch because of commercial fishing practices. The large nets used by fisheries often entangle great white sharks, as well as other species, maiming or killing the sharks ensnared. Many people have fought to protect great white sharks, like Shark Angels with their Adopt a Shark program.
Was Jaws a great white or bull shark? Superfans of the movie Jaws will know that the main antagonist of the blockbuster hit is named Bruce. Bruce is canonically a great white shark not a bull shark. Though, the animatronic does remarkably look like a bull shark.
How many great white sharks are left? Scientists estimate there are approximately 3,500-5,500 great white sharks left in the wild. There are many factors that led to the decrease of great white shark populations. Things like overfishing, habitat destruction, climate change, shark finning (taking the fins of sharks), and entanglement in fishing gear resulting in great white sharks becoming endangered. Organizations like Shark Angels work hard to help promote shark conservation.
What’s the largest great white shark on record? The largest great white shark was a female shark measuring approximately 20 feet. Great white sharks have a trait called female-based sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism is when the various sexes of a species have different physical traits. Female white sharks are typically larger than their male counterparts. There are variables that can impact measuring a shark’s length. For example, when measuring a shark that is dead the specimen may have post-mortem shrinkage, when a shark’s body shrinks after death.
What’s the average lifespan of a great white shark? The average lifespan of great white sharks is 70 years or more. This lifespan is relatively long compared to other creatures. However, it is similar to humans whose average lifespan is 79 years. Due to great white sharks’ lifespan, these sharks don’t reach sexual maturity until they are 22-33 years old. Their slow reproduction is a contributing factor to them being an endangered species. When people fish sharks, remove their fins, or when the sharks get entangled in nets it is difficult for the population to recover the loss.
What is the role of great white sharks in the ecosystem? Great white sharks are apex predators. This means great white sharks are on the very top of the food chain. The apex predators of an ecosystem have influence through trophic cascade. Basically, they influence all the species beneath them in the food chain. When great white sharks eat seals and sea lions they help regulate mesopredators (those are predators that both consume prey and are prey for apex predators), which helps keep animals further down the food chain safe from over consumption.
Bet You Didn’t Know: Great White Shark Facts
Those Terrifying Teeth? They’re Not for Chewing.
Great white sharks are famous for their rows of razor-sharp, serrated teeth—made legendary by movies like Jaws. But here’s the surprising part: great whites don’t chew their food.
Instead, those teeth work more like knives. Great whites use them to grip their prey and tear off pieces that can be swallowed whole. So while their teeth certainly deserve respect, they aren’t being used the way most people imagine. Can you guess what kind of shark just by looking at its teeth? Take the quiz and find out.
No, Great Whites Can’t Smell a Drop of Blood From Miles Away
It’s one of the most persistent shark myths: a single drop of blood hits the water and a great white comes racing in from miles away.
That’s not how it works.
Great white sharks have an impressive sense of smell, but even under favorable conditions, scents such as blood may only be detected from roughly ¼ mile (400 meters) away. And there’s no magic distance—the ability to detect a scent depends on factors such as currents, water temperature, salinity and how much of the substance is actually in the water.
So the idea of a great white detecting one tiny drop of blood from miles across the ocean? More Hollywood than biology.
Great Whites Have Their Own Built-In Heating System
Here’s something that sets great whites apart from many other sharks: parts of their bodies can actually stay warmer than the surrounding ocean.
Great whites are regionally endothermic, meaning a specialized system of blood vessels helps retain heat rather than allowing it to escape into the surrounding water. This keeps important areas including their swimming muscles, brain, eyes and internal organs—warmer.
That biological advantage helps great whites remain active and powerful in the cool waters they often travel through. Think of it as a built-in heating system designed for life as a roaming ocean predator.
Ready to Dive in?
Have you ever imagined seeing a great white shark in person? Would you like to see up-close and personal the large teeth, powerful jaws, and strong tail of one of the ocean’s apex predators? Our diving programs work to demystify great white sharks through showing people in real time how these creatures are not malicious towards humans. Diving with sharks helps conserve great white sharks by raising funds towards conservation and informing the public on the true nature of great white sharks. Here is a list of some of the best diving spots to visit great white sharks in.
1. Farallon Islands, California
Best time: September to November
The Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco are home to some of the world’s largest great white sharks. The large population of Northern Elephant Seals attract many adult white sharks to their waters during the colder seasons. These islands regularly see sharks that range from 15 to 20 feet long.
2. Neptune Islands, South Australia
Best time: November to February and May to October
The Neptune Islands consist of two islands. These islands are located in Australia’s Spencer Gulf. To get to the waters near the island, people tend to use a tender boat. On the boat ride you’ll see long nose fur seals on the islands. The Neptune Islands are the breeding ground for long nose fur seals. Inside the waters, male white sharks surround the islands year round. During the winter, female great white sharks enter the waters to hunt the local seals.
3. Bluff, New Zealand
Best time: November to April
The nearest airport to Bluff is in Invercargill. To get to Bluff from Invercargill, take State Highway 1 down ~8 miles or 30 kilometres south. The companies you can book for cage diving with sharks will take you to a large boat. There are many islands that you’ll pass or anchor to. From November to April you can see many great white sharks treading the waters of Bluff.
4. False Bay & Dyer Island, South Africa
Best time: April to August for False Bay and May to August for Dyer Island
For many years, two orcas, Port and Starboard, have been terrorizing the white shark population in False Bay. However, recently the residents of Cape Town have noticed the return of great white sharks. False Bay is located off the coast of Cape Town.
How u get there: The nearest airport to False Bay is George. There is no straight path to False Bay. An option is taking a taxi to Port Elizabeth then take the bus to Somerset West, and then take a boat to False Bay. False Bay is home to a variety of marine life. Animals like the great white sharks, bronze whaler sharks, cow sharks, cape fur seals, and stingrays.
The Dyer Islands are off the coast of the Western Cape. In the Dyer Islands, sharks, seals, dolphins, and whales populate the waters. Between Dyer Island and Greyser Rock, the waters are named “shark alley”. Due to the population of seals feeding in the area, great white sharks frequent the strip. During May through August, it is the best season to see great white sharks.
5. Guadalupe, Mexico (no longer open to the public)
For years, this was the best place to see great white sharks up close. Great visibility and warmer waters made this a favorite destination for shark lovers. Unfortunately the Mexican government shut this area down in January 2023 due to some tragic issues where a great white shark was killed in a cage. So now tourists are no longer allowed to cage dive with great white sharks here.
SCIENCE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Can Great White Sharks Change Color?
Great white sharks are known for their iconic appearance; light grey on top with a white underbelly. This coloration is an adaptation that camouflages these apex predators from both above and below.
But scientists have observed something far more surprising.
After Bites Bull Shark Quiz
Take the bull shark trivia quiz and test your new found knowledge.
Written by Ailani Duncan, Shark Angels intern.