The Shark
Directory Journal (Info Blog):
The shark has zero natural predators, except perhaps larger sharks. The largest is the whale
shark, but it eats small fish, plankton, and krill. The largest macro predatory shark is the one
Steven Spielberg made permanently infamous in “Jaws,” the Great White. In that film, the
shark is summed up by Richard Dreyfuss, “All it does is swim, and eat, and make little sharks.”
It can reach over 20 feet long, easily weigh 2.5 tons, and still swim 35 feet per second.
Michael Phelps set the world record of 100 meters in freestyle at 47.82 seconds. This works out
to about 4.7 miles per hour. The Great White can swim 25 miles per hour.
All sharks have a superlative sense of smell to make up for their bad eyesight. Any species
can smell a drop of blood in an Olympic swimming pool. They can smell a bleeding swimmer
from 5 miles, and with a single bite can tear off 31 lbs of flesh. In theory, sharks are always
hungry, and a 20 foot specimen can bite with 4,000 pounds of force, which is more powerful
than the impact of a .375 H & H Magnum rifle round.
The shark’s most incredible, virtually X-Men ability is called electroreception. They have
organs in their heads called Ampullae of Lorenzini. Every time any animal moves, it
generates a very slight electrical field, and sharks can actually sense this electricity. Thus a
person treading water looks like lightning to a shark. A great white can detect half a billionth
of a single volt. If it is within 100 meters, it can detect the voltage of your heartbeat.
Animaldanger.com: Sharks are one of the sea creatures you don't want to mess with. Maybe
it's the multiple rows of dagger-sharp teeth or the size of their huge mouths which can
swallow you whole that makes them one of the ocean's most dangerous predators. The most
prominent area affected by shark attacks is the United States, more specifically Florida,
California, Texas, and Hawaii. Death toll per year is estimated around 10-20 per year.
National Geographic Facts:
The legendary great white shark is far more fearsome in our imaginations than in reality. As
scientific research on these elusive predators increases, their image as mindless killing
machines is beginning to fade.
Of the 100-plus annual shark attacks worldwide, fully one-third to one-half are attributable to
great whites. However, most of these are not fatal, and new research finds that great whites,
who are naturally curious, are "sample biting" then releasing their victims rather than preying
on humans. It's not a terribly comforting distinction, but it does indicate that humans are not
actually on the great white's menu.
Great whites are the largest predatory fish on Earth. They grow to an average of 15 feet (4.6
meters) in length, though specimens exceeding 20 feet (6 meters) and weighing up to 5,000
pounds (2,268 kilograms) have been recorded.
They have slate-gray upper bodies to blend in with the rocky coastal sea floor, but get their
name from their universally white underbellies. They are streamlined, torpedo-shaped
swimmers with powerful tails that can propel them through the water at speeds of up to 15
miles (24 kilometers) per hour. They can even leave the water completely, breaching like
whales when attacking prey from underneath.
Highly adapted predators, their mouths are lined with up to 300 serrated, triangular teeth
arranged in several rows, and they have an exceptional sense of smell to detect prey. They
even have organs that can sense the tiny electromagnetic fields generated by animals. Their
main prey items include sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, and even sea turtles, and
carrion.
Map
Great White Shark Range
Fast Facts
Type: Fish
Diet: Carnivore
Size: 15 ft (4.6 m) to more than 20 ft (6 m)
Weight: 5,000 lbs (2,268 kg) or more
Group name: School or shoal
Protection status:Endangered
Did you know? Great whites can detect one
drop of blood in 25 gal (100 L) of water and can
sense even tiny amounts of blood in the water
up to 3 mi (5 km) away.
Size relative to a bus: