Shark Week: The Great White

It’s officially Shark Week. I am fascinated by sharks (hell, I even themed my last book around it). Every day this week I will pick a different shark to feature. I felt like today we should start with the shark we all know and love: The Great White.

1. When someone spots a great white, they can close down the entire beach….and with good reason because…. (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks)

2.  Out of 100 shark attacks, a third are credited to great whites (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks). However, sharks aren’t the human hunters people think they are. As of May 2020 only 326 unprovoked attacks were recorded, 52 being fatal (www.originaldiving.com/blog/top-ten-great-white-facts). In fact, it is thought we are more danger to them, killing about 100 million sharks and rays every YEAR! (https://www.treehugger.com/great-white-shark-facts-5093679). We hurt sharks through a combination of overfishing and when sharks get caught in nets.

3. Usually when sharks “sample” humans it takes one bite before they swim away after mistaking the swimmer/surfer for something else (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks). Unfortunately with something so big one bite can be enough to seriously maim or even kill. 

4. “Their smell is so well honed that they can sense a drop of blood in 100 liters of water” (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks)

5. There are instances when the tables do turn and they are the prey. Killer whales will  eat Great Whites. (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks ).

6. It is mostly found around reefs or islands rather than deep in the ocean (this explains why it comes in contact with humans more than certain other sharks) (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks).

7. Great White Sharks are the fourth largest shark (surpassing them are the megamouth sharks, the basking sharks, which by the way I have seen in the water, and whale sharks) (www.originaldiving.com/blog/top-ten-great-white-facts). However, they are the largest predatory shark (https://usa.oceana.org/fun-facts-about-great-white-sharks/)

8. Weird but cool fact: great whites have “toxic” blood, high in arsenic and mercury from devouring so much prey. This is called bioaccumulation and it does not bother the sharks at all. (www.originaldiving.com/blog/top-ten-great-white-facts)

9. Great Whites have a intriguing superpower called the Ampullae of Lorenzini which allows sharks to sense the electrical fields of other animals. They use this skill typically at a close range. (www.treehugger.com/great-white-facts-5093679) 

10. Some stuff about Great Whites (such as mating and courtship) still remains a mystery since they seem solo most of the time. Scientists have a lot of work to do on these fascinating creatures. (https://www.treehugger.com/great-white-shark-facts-5093679)