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  • Shark cage diving in Gansbaai, South Africa with Marine Dynamics. Experience the exceptional and come face to face with a great white shark! 

  • The exact world record white shark is a contested issue, but chances are it is between 6-7m. In Gansbaai, the largest white shark ever caught was at Danger Point and measured up to 5.9m.

  • If you see a white shark in the water don’t panic. Chances are high that the shark has already detected you and isn’t interested. White shark attacks are normally associated with poor visibility, so avoid murky conditions.

  • White sharks have a unique system called a “counter current heat exchange”, which keeps their body  tempreture +/- 7C above the surrounding water temperature. 

  • All sharks have an incredibly unique system on the tip of their nose called the “ampillae of Lorenzini”. These are small pores filled with a gel that transmits the electrical currents in the water to the shark’s brain so that it can assess its environment.

  • White sharks give birth to live young (not eggs), and they give birth to 6-8 pups at one time. Pups are usually between 1.0-1.5m in length and are born with teeth.

  • Body language has been a well documented form of shark communication and has identified body arching, jaw gaping, and other postures as specific social tactics.

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Sharkwatch SA Blog

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What scares great white sharks?

Tuesday, April 03, 2012 |  0 Comment

Author:

Only three things on this planet hunt white sharks; bigger white sharks, Orcas, and their most deadly predator – us.

Bigger sharks will eat smaller white sharks rarely (as far as we know).

Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, are the only natural predator of white sharks.  They have been well documented killing white sharks in California only to eat the liver, kind of like a white shark pate.

Humans kill over 100 million sharks every year in the oceans and we are indiscriminate killers.  Usually these sharks are killed in long-line fisheries, for their fins or jaws, or just to be culled from the ocean.

So who should be afraid of whom?


Here is a stunning (real!) image of an Orca whale chasing down a Mako shark off New Zealand waters!  Game over buddy...

 

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