By: Abigail Sullivan Period 1

This sixteen foot, seven thousand pound beast has a body of a warrior, made entirely of cartilage, no bone. The body of a Great white shark includes: paired pectoral fins to lift the body as it swims, paired pelvic fins for stabilization, a dorsal fin also for stabilization, and a tail fin to propel the shark through the ocean. Great whites use ram ventilation for breathing. This is when the shark propels itself through the water as water ventilates through its 5 gill slits. Great white sharks are grey on the top and white on the bottom for blending into their environment. Their skin is rough and hard for protection against predators. Their eyes are all black and they actually have poor eye sight. Sharks smell through their gill slits.

Sharks have various senses. These senses include sensing changes in water pressure, their eye sight, and their hearing. Sharks also have a very strong sense in smell, so strong that they can smell a drop of blood in 25 gallons of water. Sharks can sense electrical fields given off by all animals, and can also detect magnetic fields which they can use for navigation.

Young great white sharks dine on fish, rays, and other sharks. Adults eat larger prey such as, sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, otters, and sea turtles. Great whites don’t chew their food, due to their teeth ripping the prey into bite sized pieces which allow them to swallow it whole. Fun fact: a big meal is enough to satisfy a great white for up to two months.

Most often, Great white sharks are thought of being vicious killers when really, they are gentle creatures who are misunderstood. Out of the 200 million people who visit U.S beaches yearly, an average of only 36 shark attacks happen all year round. For every one human killed by a shark, there are approximately 25 million sharks killed by humans for their fins. Sharks true intentions are to roam around finding food in peace, humans become the target when either trying to interact & bother the Great white or when they get mistaken for prey

Great white sharks give birth to 2-14 babies that are 5-foot long each, also known as pups. Fertilization of the eggs occurs within the female, the eggs hatch within the females and are nourished by eating unfertilized eggs and smaller siblings in the womb. There is no placenta to feed the pups, so they must nourish themselves even before birth. After birth they swim away from their mother and are off to live and fend for themselves.

Great white sharks have been around for about 400 million years, but due to them being hunted for years by man for their fins, their population is decreasing. Thankfully, great white sharks are protected along the coasts of California, USA, Australia, and South Africa. Great white sharks are also known for their adaptation to the waters they migrate to throughout the seasons. Three major factors that cause these sharks to migrate are temperature & season changes, reproduction, and food sources. Great white sharks are endotherms meaning they are half cold-blooded half warm-blooded. Their internal body temperature is the same as the outside water temperatures. Movement of fish which the shark preys on will cause the shark to follow in pursuit.

A great white shark was spotted recently on Alligator Reef off Islamorada in the Florida Keys on April 17 th, The shark was spotted by a friend of Captain Charles Muller as the 10 to 12- foot shark circled his charter boat that was docked at the time. The shark circled for about 30 minutes before Muller got in the water to videotape the great white. "I've never seen anything like this in my life, especially not in the Keys, and I've swam with a lot of sharks," Muller said Sunday. Muller was driving a charter boat filled with 15 exchange students from Thailand that he ushered to get out of the water once he got the news of the shark.

On average, they grow up to be 4.6 meters, and some have measured to be 6 meters, that amounts to about half the length of a bus. Their tail propels about 60 km per hour In the womb, sharks eat their siblings to survive. Only the weakest links die. A great whites mouth is equipped with 3,000 triangular teeth that are razor sharp and in rows. The biggest shark spotted was 23 feet long, longer than the beast in the movie Jaws was said to be. When pups are born, they have a hard life and their mother shows no care and will try to eat them, so they swim away after being birthed. When great white shark comes underneath its prey and leaps out of the water, it is called a breach.

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