The Great White's scientific name is Carcharodon carcharias

The Great White reaches maturity about 9 years after it's birth. The growth of The Great White shark is about 25-30 cm per year. The White Shark has litters of about 7-9 pups. The females only reproduce twice in her whole life.

Most shark attacks occur within 100 feet of the shoreline, although it is not uncommon for a shark to attack in the open sea. Some sharks even follow the boats out to the sea. Sailors consider the sharks to be a bad omen, and sometimes they would throw one of their own men overboard to please the sharks! The people that are at the highest risk for a brutal attack by these sharks are shipwrecked men, who are just floating in the sea. The most common incident with shark attacks is on the USS Indianapolis. 500 people died either from the shipwreck, or from fierce shark attacks.

The record for the largest Great White shark was set by Alf Dean. He caught his record breaking shark in Australia. The size of the shark was 2,664 pounds, and he was using a 130 pound line. The exact spot of his catch was in Ceduna, Australia. It was caught on April 1, 1959.

OF PREDATORS & THEIR PREY To study the predatory behavior of the Great White, scientists must travel to a location where this overgrown fish is known to hunt it's prey. Luckily, about 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco are the Farallon Islands, home to a large elephant seal population - making this area the local burger shop for Great Whites's in the neighborhood and thus a hotspot for research. The Great White Hunts Sea Lions.

From this data collected at the Farallon Islands, we now know that most Great White attacks occur during the day in late summer or early winter. Furthermore, the attacks also took place at around the same time each day, most likely due to the tide schedule.

Going back to the observational data, some interesting differences in attack strategies were noted based on the species of the shark's prey. For example, in the case seals, the great white often attacks just beneath the surface by rising from below. A large elongating blood stain at the surface indicates that the shark carries the seal underwater for a distance before removing a bite and releasing the carcass which then floats to the surface. When this initial attack took place near the head of the seal, an area rich with networks of blood vessels, death by exsanguination (loss of blood) or decapitation was the norm. On other occasions, the GW would disable the seal by attacking from behind, biting the strong hind flipper. Nature is pretty grisly stuff, huh?

Attacks are usually observed with the sea lion at the surface of the water, the Great White strikes brutally, throwing itself out of the water with the sea lion clamped in its jaws. The sea lion, flounders at the surface until the shark returns for the final kill and feeding.

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