Worldwide, there are fewer than 10 fatal, unprovoked shark attacks each year.Īs Collier sees it, "Jaws" unfairly maligned the creatures, though he agrees with one of its most famous lines. Yet, by scientific accounts, attacks on people are extremely rare and almost always reflect a “test bite” rather than an attempt to kill, and most victims survive. In some measure, the fear they inspire is deserved: White sharks have accounted for more human fatalities than any other oceanic creature. That intimidating image was brought to cinematic life in the movie "Jaws," which may have forever villainized great whites in the public eye. The main teeth fall out every two or three weeks, he says, meaning a shark might go through 30,000 during its life. Ralph Collier, director of the Global Shark Attack File, says an adult white shark’s jaws, about 2½ feet wide, contain 24 upper teeth and 28 lower ones, each backed by seven rows of developing replacements. (Carcharodon literally means “jagged teeth.”) An average adult specimen may be 15 feet long large females sometimes exceed 20 feet and 4,000 pounds.Įven the Latin name, Carcharodon carcharias, seems ominous. Like muscle-bound torpedoes, they can hit speeds near 20 mph during an attack, preying mostly on marine mammals but also fish, birds and an occasional whale. No matter the history, great whites are the world’s largest predator fish, roaming throughout the seven seas. A research paper published this year suggests the megaladon may have gone extinct because it lost a food-competition battle with white sharks. Scientists linked the modern white shark to megaladon, a big-toothed, prehistoric monster fish that plied the oceans 60 million years ago, but that theory has been displaced by findings that the great white descended later from a different species. “They’re actual dinosaurs.” 'Jagged teeth' “They’re literally older than time,” Fairchild says with unabashed awe. Though the sharks are juveniles, the species carries an ancient allure. He ’s given nicknames to some of the critters based on their markings: Scar Face has old head wounds, possibly from a boat propeller Rudolph has a white nose. Scott Fairchild, a shark enthusiast and drone hobbyist who shoots videos of young sharks swimming among people, says he can usually locate a great white within 45 seconds of launching his aircraft. The question is why so many have appeared, and what it means for the future of the species, and the ocean. Most researchers say the sharks don't pose a risk to humans. They are nearly all young sharks, 4 to 10 feet long and less massive than the monster adults.įrom 2017-21, California lifeguards reported a fivefold increase in great white shark sightings – nearly all of them youngsters.Īlong one stretch of beach, Lowe and his team from California State University, Long Beach, encountered 40 juvenile great whites within 2 miles, hanging out in areas the researchers describe as “nurseries.” Here, along a sandy beach inhabited by Hollywood stars and frequented by tourists, nearly everyone seems to agree that great whites appear in greater numbers than anyone has seen before. The researchers use advanced technology not merely to track an iconic species. They gather seawater to measure DNA, calculating the concentration of sharks and prey fish. They dart them to secure muscle tissue, analyzing isotopes to learn what they eat. They track them with tags, underwater monitors and satellite signals. Similar scenarios play out regularly along beaches of Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego, where researchers locate great white sharks with remote-controlled air support. Within seconds, the drone has found another one, and the game of tag is on. The great white vanishes into the depths. “Like a shark whisperer,” Samara Chacon laughs. “I’ll see if I can be very quiet,” lab director Chris Lowe says, maneuvering the boat. The pursuit renews to get a tissue sample.
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