The great white shark is one of the ocean’s top predators. It grows up to about 6 m (21 feet) long, has rows of serrated teeth, and is partly warm-blooded. Adults hunt seals and sea lions by ambushing them from below. White sharks can live 70 years or more and are listed as Vulnerable.
great white sharks quick facts
- Great white sharks can grow up to about 6 m (21 feet) long.
- White sharks can keep their bodies up to 15 °C warmer than the water.
- They can live 70 years or more.
- Females take about 33 years to become adults.
- White sharks gather at a spot in the Pacific nicknamed the White Shark Café.
What is a great white shark?
The great white shark, also called the white shark, is one of the biggest hunting fish in the sea. It is famous for its size, its rows of sharp teeth and its powerful attacks on seals.
NOAA Fisheries says white sharks live in temperate and subtropical waters all around the world. They are found off the coasts of North America, South Africa, Australia and many other places.
White sharks are top predators. As hunters at the top of the ocean food chain, they help keep the numbers of seals and other animals in balance.
| Great white shark at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Length | up to about 6 m (20 to 21 feet) |
| Weight | up to about 2,000 kg (4,500 pounds) |
| Food | seals, sea lions, fish, rays and dead whales |
| Pups | born about 1.2 to 1.5 m long |
| Grows up at | about 26 years (males) and 33 years (females) |
| Lifespan | 70 years or more |
| Status | Vulnerable |
What does a great white shark look like?
A great white shark has a torpedo-shaped body, a pointed snout and a big, triangular fin on its back. Its tail is shaped like a crescent moon, which helps it swim fast.
Despite its name, a white shark is not all white. The Florida Museum says its back is greyish-black and its belly is pale to white, with a sharp line where the two colours meet.
This colouring is called countershading. From above, the dark back blends in with the deep water below. From below, the white belly blends in with the bright sky above, so prey struggle to see it coming.
How big is a great white shark?
NOAA Fisheries says adult white sharks can grow up to about 6.4 m (21 feet) long and weigh up to about 2,000 kg (4,500 pounds). Females are generally bigger than males.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium says the biggest ever reported was about 7.2 m (23.5 feet) long, but very large sizes like this are hard to confirm.
Even so, great whites are not the biggest sharks. The whale shark, a gentle giant that eats tiny plankton, grows much bigger.
Teeth
A great white shark’s teeth are large, triangular and serrated, like the edge of a steak knife. The Florida Museum says the teeth in the lower jaw are more slender.
Sharks lose teeth all the time, but that is no problem. Behind the front row are more rows of spare teeth, which move forward to replace any that fall out.
Over its lifetime, a shark may lose and replace thousands of teeth. That is why shark teeth are among the most common fossils found on beaches.
A partly warm-blooded fish
Most fish are the same temperature as the water around them. White sharks are different.
NOAA Fisheries says white sharks are partly warm-blooded. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says an adult can keep its body up to 15 °C (27 °F) warmer than the water around it.
A warmer body helps a white shark swim fast and hunt in cold water. NOAA Fisheries says white sharks prefer water of about 10 to 27 °C (50 to 80 °F).
What do great white sharks eat?
Young white sharks eat mostly fish. NOAA Fisheries says juveniles eat bottom-living fish, smaller sharks and rays, and schooling fish and squid.
As they grow, white sharks switch to bigger prey. The Florida Museum says their most important prey includes seals, sea lions, elephant seals and dolphins, as well as fish, other sharks and rays.
NOAA Fisheries says adults gather around seal and sea lion colonies to feed, and sometimes scavenge dead whales. Find out about some of their prey in our harp seal facts.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium says white sharks also eat skates, stingrays, sea turtles, crabs and even seabirds. Along the California coast, white shark bites kill many sea otters, although sharks rarely eat them.
How great white sharks hunt
The Monterey Bay Aquarium says white sharks use quick bursts of speed to ambush their favourite prey, seals and sea lions.
A white shark often swims deep below its prey, where it is hard to see against the dark water. Then it rushes upwards and strikes from below.
Sometimes it attacks so fast that it bursts right out of the water. The Florida Museum says white sharks can launch two-thirds of their body out of the sea in a leap called a breach.
Super senses
White sharks have amazing senses for finding prey. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says they have special organs that can detect the faint electrical fields given off by the bodies of other animals.
Sharks also have a keen sense of smell and can feel the vibrations of animals moving in the water through a line of sensors along their sides.
Where do great white sharks live?
NOAA Fisheries says white sharks live worldwide in temperate and subtropical seas. In US waters, they range from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Alaska to California and Hawaii.
Young white sharks grow up in shallow nursery areas. NOAA Fisheries says these include the waters off southern California and off Long Island, New York.
White sharks travel huge distances. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says many gather every year in an area of the Pacific halfway between California and Hawaii, nicknamed the White Shark Café. Scientists are still working out whether they go there to feed or to find mates.
Great white shark pups
White sharks give birth to live pups rather than laying eggs. The Florida Museum says females give birth every two or three years.
NOAA Fisheries says the pups are born about 1.2 m (4 feet) long, and they can swim and hunt straight away.
White sharks grow slowly. NOAA Fisheries says males take about 26 years to become adults, and females about 33 years.
How long do great white sharks live?
White sharks can live a very long time. NOAA Fisheries says they can live 70 years or more. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says one male was estimated to be 73 years old.
Built to hunt
Everything about a white shark’s body helps it hunt: its streamlined shape and powerful tail for speed, countershading for camouflage, a warm body for bursts of energy, super senses for finding prey, and rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Are great white sharks dangerous?
The Florida Museum says white sharks are responsible for more fatal attacks on people than any other kind of shark. But attacks are still very rare, and most sharks never go near people.
Scientists think many bites happen because a shark mistakes a person, especially a surfer on a board, for a seal. People are not a white shark’s natural food.
Protecting great white sharks
White sharks are in far more danger from people than people are from them. The Florida Museum lists them as Vulnerable, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium says numbers fell sharply because of fishing.
NOAA Fisheries says white sharks are now a protected species in US waters, and fishermen are not allowed to keep them. The Monterey Bay Aquarium tracks white sharks with tags to learn where they travel.
Long-distance swimmers
White sharks are amazing travellers. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says they can migrate up to 3,219 km (2,000 miles) non-stop across the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists learn about these journeys by fixing electronic tags to sharks. The tags record where the sharks swim and how deep they dive, then send the information back by satellite.
Record breakers
The heaviest white shark ever recorded weighed about 3,400 kg (7,500 pounds), according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. That is heavier than two cars.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium says the oldest white shark studied so far was a male thought to be about 73 years old. The oldest female studied was about 40.
A shark in an aquarium
White sharks are very hard to keep in an aquarium. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says it is the only aquarium in the world to have successfully displayed a white shark.
It kept young white sharks for a short time, so millions of visitors could see them up close. It then released every one of them back into the wild.
Three things people get wrong
Great white sharks are not all white. They are grey on top and white underneath.
Great whites are not the biggest sharks. The whale shark is much bigger.
Great whites do not hunt people. Most bites are mistakes, and attacks are rare.
Did you know? A great white shark can launch two-thirds of its body out of the water when it attacks from below.
Try it
Colour a paper fish dark grey on top and white underneath. Hold it above and below eye level to see how countershading helps it hide.
Knowledge check
What is countershading?
Show answer
Dark on top and pale underneath, so an animal is hard to see from above or below.
What do adult great white sharks mainly hunt?
Show answer
Seals and sea lions.
Frequently asked questions
How big do great white sharks get?
NOAA Fisheries says adult white sharks grow up to about 6.4 m (21 feet) long and weigh up to about 2,000 kg (4,500 pounds). Females are bigger.
What do great white sharks eat?
Young white sharks eat fish, rays and squid. Adults mainly hunt seals and sea lions, and also eat dolphins, sea turtles and dead whales.
How long do great white sharks live?
White sharks can live 70 years or more, according to NOAA Fisheries. They grow slowly, taking decades to become adults.
Where do great white sharks live?
White sharks live in temperate and subtropical seas worldwide, including off California, South Africa and Australia, and travel huge distances.
Are great white sharks warm-blooded?
They are partly warm-blooded. An adult can keep its body up to 15 °C warmer than the water around it, which helps it hunt in cold seas.
Are great white sharks endangered?
White sharks are listed as Vulnerable. Their numbers fell because of fishing, and they are now protected in US waters.
Sources
- NOAA Fisheries: white shark — size, lifespan, maturity, range, diet, teeth, warm body, water temperature, nurseries and protection
- Florida Museum of Natural History: white shark — colour, teeth, prey, breaching, birth, lifespan, attacks and status
- Monterey Bay Aquarium: white shark — size records, diet, ambush hunting, warm body, electric sense, the White Shark Café, lifespan and conservation
