Creature feature - great white sharks!


Great white sharks are born along with up to 12 siblings. Each pup (which is what a baby shark is called) is born about 1.5 metres long, but they can grow up to three times that length.

Although a great white shark will live its life at the top of the ocean's food chain, until it grows larger, the pup must avoid predators bigger than it is—including other great white sharks.

Young great white sharks eat fish (including other sharks) and rays. As it grows, the shark's favorite prey becomes sea mammals, especially sea lions and seals. After eating a seal or a sea lion the great white shark can last a month or two without another big meal.

FAST FACTS

  • The great white shark's scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias
  • Adult great white sharks can swim up to speeds of 69 kmph
  • Some great white sharks can weigh more than 2,000 kg
  • A great white shark's teeth can measure more than 5.7 cm long
  • Sharks have acute hearing, good eyesight, and a keen sense of smell. They use all of these senses for hunting.
  • Sharks have been around for some 350 million years.

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Pictures: Getty Images UK