Great white shark: The apex hunter that replaces thousands of teeth

The great white shark is one of the most famous and most misunderstood animals in the sea. It is an apex hunter with astonishing skills; but unlike its movie image, it is not a "man-eating monster". Let's meet it objectively.

Its body

The great white can reach 3.5 to 6 metres, making it a large shark. Its most formidable equipment is its teeth: serrated at the edges like steak knives, and replaced conveyor-style — when a front tooth falls out, a new one from the row behind moves up. Over a lifetime it can replace thousands of teeth.

It has another special trait: muscles along its sides generate heat, keeping its body warmer than the surrounding water. Warm muscles let it swim faster and with more power. Pores on its snout sense the faint electric fields of a prey animal's heartbeat, so it can find prey even when hidden in sand.

How it hunts

The great white's favourite prey is seals. It accelerates up from the depths, sometimes launching its whole body clear of the water — a spectacular sight. Its hunting relies mainly on ambush and bursts of power, not long chases.

Misunderstandings about it

Despite its fearsome fame, humans are not its prey. Many so-called "attacks" happen when it mistakes a surfer for a seal. Today the great white's numbers are falling because of overfishing and the shark-fin trade — it actually needs our protection.

A note for grown-ups

You could talk with a child about how films and reality differ: movies portray the great white as a monster, but the real animal is a vital part of the ocean. Teaching a child not to let dramatic fiction sway their judgement is an important media-literacy exercise.