Great white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the world. This legendary shark is way more fearsome in our imaginations that they are in reality. Unfortunately, due to certain media the great white shark has a reputation for being a mindless killing machine, but as scientific research is starting to increase, this image is beginning to fade.
Although the great white shark is the almighty apex predator in our world’s oceans, they are still facing threats of endangerment on the IUCN red list.
Unfortunately, the cause for their decrease in population comes down to us humans considerably. Great white sharks are now rare due to many years of them being hunted for their fins, teeth and even as a trophy for sport fishing. With your help, adopting a great white shark today will help contribute to the protection of this species and ensure that great white sharks get back to a healthy population.
This is something very important to us here at Ocean Scuba Dive and also one of the reasons we have put together Project Ocean.
Below we have put together five reasons why you should adopt a great white shark today and also some interesting facts about this beloved shark.
Five Reasons Why you Should Adopt a Great White Shark
1. Help Ensure there is Sustainable use of our Oceans
One of the main reasons behind the decline in our great white shark numbers is the irresponsible use or our natural resources. Due to human beings over fishing, many great white sharks find themselves caught in the fishing nets and often drown in the process. This is called by catch, and it is very important that we do something about it.
Regulation of our ocean for such events is required, and this can be supported by adopting a great white shark.
2. Help Fight Ocean Pollution
Human pollution of our ocean is another major threat. Not only do great white sharks become very sick as a result of the pollution made by humans dumping into our oceans, but also the ecosystem that supports them is damaged in the process as well.
People are often blinded by the things they cannot see, ocean pollution is one of those things. What is ocean pollution? You are able to help the great white shark population by adopting one today and using that money to help go towards lobby governments to regulate change.
3. Help Fight Against Climate Change
As many of us know, climate change is not only a threat to great white sharks. It’s much bigger than that, and also a threat to us human beings. Although we all know about the different effects of global warming on mankind, a lot less is known about the impact it has on our ocean life.
Climate change is already making a huge impact on underwater food chains, which is most certainly going to cause lasting damage to all different kinds of species, including great white sharks. This is a global emergency and we must act and do something about it now, before it is too late. By adopting a great white shark you will play a part of the solution to help us make a difference.
4. Help Protect Great White Sharks
Great white sharks continue to be hunted as a trophy prize by sporting fishermen and even a fashion item. Not only are they sometimes victims of by catch, great white sharks are often hunted for their teeth and fins.
One of the best ways to protect the great white sharks and other marine species is to help establish marine habitats that are then protected from human activities. It’s these habitats that provide sanctuary and enable the great white sharks numbers to recover. It is not easy trying to convince governments to prevent people from making a living but that is exactly what has to happen if we are to ensure that great white shark populations stay and maintain healthy.
Each donation will help to reduce the threats to these intelligent and beloved creatures and also help create a better environment for them all to live in.
5. Adopting a Great White Shark makes a Great Gift Idea
Great white sharks are at the very top of the food chain with little threats in the ocean. Apart from orcas or larger sharks, the only other risk the great white has, is human interaction. And is it us humans that have put their population into a vulnerable state. Give the give of giving back with this great scuba diving gift or for anyone who loves sharks.
By making a choice to adopt an animal today, you are not only helping that species, but you are also supporting the world’s oceans. Can you think of a more thoughtful gift for an ocean lover? I know I can’t.
Help us help the great white shark population today by adopting one for someone who loves them. The give of giving is truly one of the best.
Adopt a great white shark today and I can assure you, they will thank you for it!
Did You Know?
If a great white shark smells the blood of another great white shark, they will immediately leave the area. In some cases, they have been shown to swim hundreds of miles away from it.
5 Facts about Great White Sharks
Great white sharks can detect a drop of blood in 25 gallons (100 litres) of water. They are also able to sense even a little blood up to as far as 3 miles (5 kilometres) away. They use their acute sense of smell to detect blood by using an organ call the olfactory bulb.
Great white sharks have been around for over 16 million years. Some early fossil records have been known to show that great white sharks have been swimming our planets ocean for around 16 million years! Some scientists believe that they might even be much older still.
Great white sharks weigh an average of 1500 – 2400 pounds. This is the average amount a great white sharks weighs when reaching maturity. This is about a ton! The heaviest great white shark ever recorded was estimated to have weighed a massive 7,328 pounds.
Female great white sharks are larger than male great whites. Just like in most of the shark species, the females are larger than the males. Typically, great white sharks can grow up to 21 feet long, with their average length being around 15 – 16 feet for the ladies and 11 – 13 feet long for the gents! The largest great white ever recorded was estimated to be 26 feet in length! That’s more than half the length of a basketball court.
Great white sharks have no eyelids! It’s true! Instead of having eyelids, the eyes of a great white shark actually roll back into their heads in order to protect them from damage when they are attacking their prey.
Did you Know?
Great white sharks actually have six senses: Sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, and electroreception. They use electromagnetic fields to be able to feel vibrations in the water of potential prey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Great White Sharks
Are Great White Sharks Endangered?
Great white sharks are at the very top of the food chain they are therefore unlikely to be killed by other marine animals. Sadly however, they are in fact under serious threat by human activity. Illegal hunting of these beautiful creatures and overfishing are just a couple of threats to mention.
After years of being hunted for trophies by sport fishing and captured for the use of both their teeth and fins the great white shark population has decreased significantly.
This hunting is a serious threat to their population. Hundreds of great white sharks are still being fished every year in countries around the world. One of the other reasons for this is often for shark fin soup, where only the fin is used and the remainder of the fish is uneaten and sometimes thrown back into the water to drown – an act known as shark finning.
According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the great white shark population is classified as vulnerable. Help support them by adopting one today.
Where do Great White Sharks Live?
Great white sharks can be found throughout the world’s oceans. They mostly live in cool waters and stay close to the coastlines and in shallower waters, although they have been spotted swimming in open waters at depths of up to 3,900 feet They are known to hunt along the coast of every single continent in the world with the exception of Antarctica.
Great white sharks prefer the cool waters with a temperature ranging between 54 – 75° Fahrenheit. The majority of the world’s great white sharks are known to live off of the coast of Dyer Island, South Africa. This area is also known as “Shark Alley”.
What do Great White Sharks Eat?
Whilst many people still think these fearsome beasts are man-eaters, we humans are not actually on a great white’s menu! There are roughly 5 – 10 attacks on humans each year. Scientists believe that these attacks are more out of curiosity, a sample bite, before swimming off. So what do they eat? – Well when they are younger, they tend to feed on smaller prey such as fish and rays. But once they have matured and are a lot bigger, their diet generally relies on sea mammals such as seals, sea lions and even small whales.
In a singer year, a great white shark eats an average of 11 tons of food! Once they have fed, great white sharks are able to go a whole three months without eating another meal. Although they are the apex predator of our oceans, great white sharks are other attacked and then eaten by killer whales.
How old can Great White Sharks get?
Previously, scientists have thought that the life expectancy of a great white shark was about 25 years old, but recent studies have actually shown that their life expectancy is much longer than that! Studies now show that the life expectancy of our great white sharks are thought to be around 70 years.
But How Old is the Great White Shark Species?
Are you ready for this? Sharks have been around swimming in our oceans for almost 450 million years. That’s right, 450 million years. Many of us think it was the dinosaurs that dominated the prehistoric world, but the matter of the fact is that the dinosaurs didn’t actually appear until about 230 million years ago.
This means that sharks have existed 3 times longer than the dinosaurs.