GREAT WHITE SHARK

NAME

• Common name: Great White Shark
• Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias

FACTS

• The Great White Shark lives for about 25 years.
• Great White Sharks are the largest predatory fish in the sea.
• a single Great White consumes about 11 tons of food in one year
• A Great White Shark may use and lose more than one thousand teeth in its life time

LOCATION

• Great whites are usually found in temperature seas around the world
• The coastlines of of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand
• California to Alaska,the east coast of USA and the Gulf coast, Hawaii, most of South America

POPULATION

• Great whites are decreasing in numbers and are rare due to years of being hunted by humans
• Great White Shark population may be 50% lower than was originally thought.
• Great White Sharks popualtion, which is generally estimated at 3,000 – 5,000, may have been overestimated

Taxonomic classification
Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata
Class-Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
Order-Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays)
Family-Selachii
Genus-Carcharodon
Species-carcharias

FACTS

• Great whites average 12-16 feet long
• They weigh about 5,000 pounds
• Shark pups can be over 5 feet
• Females are larger than males

ECOSYSTEM

• Sharks play a very important role in the ocean in a way that an average fish does not
• Sharks are at the top of the food chain
• They keep the population of other fish healthy and in proportion for their ecosystem

RED LIST

• Great whites are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

FACTS

• Great whites can detect 1 drop of blood, 3 miles away from them
• Diet: carnivore
• Protection status: endangered species
• Humans should not eat sharks because of their high amounts of mercury

LAWS

• States are now making laws to protect great whites from being killed
• Great whites are at the risk of extinction
• California is one state who has made a law against the killing of great whites
• Today, the great white is fully protected in seven countries, including South Africa

THREATS

• Great whites face extinction
• They are being hunted by humans
• They are hunted for their fins, their meat, their fat for oil, and for the thrill of it

WORK CITED

• http://www.sharks-world.com/shark_hunting/
• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/great-white-shark/
• http://animals.howstuffworks.com/fish/sharks/great-white5.htm