Species of Sharks: Exploring the Great White

The Hunt for Female Great White Sharks

If there’s ever a species of shark that you need to be extra cautious around, of course, it’s a great white shark. Allison sets out to locate and tag a large female white shark here to reveal its movements and discover if females are more voracious than males. The largest male white sharks grow over 13 feet in length, but what about females? Well, both sexes can actually get really large. Females have to be a lot bigger in order to reproduce.

The Size of Female Great White Sharks

To see a mature female great white shark is an absolute spectacle. These animals get up to over 21 feet, weighing in at around two tons. Some of the biggest documented white sharks are pregnant females, carrying as many as 17 live young in utero, each measuring up to five feet long.

Feeding Habits and Tagging

This could mean that they’re more hungry and that they’re seeking out food by the coastal zones. Through active tracking with an acoustic transmitter, Allison can gain valuable insight into the movements of these mysterious females in real time. But first, she must tag one.

Bait and Predation

Muscle bait is a really important spot for white sharks, primarily because it’s effectively an aggregation site for their prey. A seal colony with around four thousand cape fur seals provides ample predation opportunities for the great white sharks.

Attack Behaviors

Great white sharks rely on the art of ambush in the moments before an attack. They can swim in bursts of over 20 feet per second. This is a supreme predator that can dominate its surroundings.

The Search for the Ideal Moment

Allison must wait for the ideal moment to deploy the tracking device. It isn’t long before the first shark appears, a large female that could be exactly what Allison is looking for.

Conclusion

Absolutely unbelievable, as the search for the perfect female great white shark continues. The quest for knowledge about these incredible creatures goes on, and the hope is that the tracking devices will reveal more about their behaviors and movements.