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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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09 February 2017 | Deceased Great White Shark

Author:

Marine biologist Kelly Baker, the International Marine Volunteers and staff from the Dyer Island Conservation Trust assisted to retrieve the animal with our Samel vehicle. From external observations we can confirm the juvenile shark is a 2.63m (total length) specimen, a young female. She had no obvious signs of trauma however after washing the sand off her at the International Marine Volunteers lodge, with additional input from Dr Alison Kock of Shark Spotters, we observed measured and photographed any potentially interesting markings. There will no doubt be speculation that Orcinus orca is responsible for this mortality as only yesterday we documented the two male Orca in the area.

The fact is we cannot confirm this, it could also just be a coincidence. The autopsy of this shark will take place at Department of Environmental Affairs and will hopefully reveal more about the cause of death, which at this stage is very much inconclusive. Professor Susan Dippenar from University of Limpopo was on site with us and was able to sample live parasitic copepods from the sharks mouth-an indication that this animal had likely washed up recently before found. Interestingly the stranding site is where we have retrieved two dead whale shark Rhincodon typus carcasses in the past. It is an area known for strong currents.





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