Facts on the Great White Shark

The Great White Shark is one of the most fascinating and feared animals on this planet. Watching it breach - thrusting itself completely airborne out of the water with a twitch of the tail when taking its prey - is an awesome and quite terrifying sight!

Like so many other animals, the Great White is thoroughly misunderstood. This explains why it was threatened with extinction - helped in no small measure by the "Jaws" movie and trophy hunting. South Africa was the first country to protect the Great White Shark and is now the leader in Eco-Tourism with on average over 100 people a day traveling to Gansbaai and Cape Town to gain firsthand experience of these magnificent creatures. It's wonderful to know that their numbers are steadily increasing. 

It's pretty certain that sharks are not man-eaters, but rather are on the cautious side when faced with an unknown object, and will take an exploratory bite to see what it's all about. Unfortunately, their strong teeth and jaws make such a "bite" rather lethal. In most cases where Great Whites attacked people, only one bite was taken ... not exactly the modus operandi of a "human eating machine"!

A Great White must swim so that it can breathe, keeping its mouths open so that the oxygen-rich water flows across its gills.

A dentist's nightmare ... The Great White Shark has rows of replacement teeth. As older teeth snap off new ones develop in their place. They are triangular in shape with serrated edges for cutting.

Great Whites are very curious, and like whales will pop their heads out of the water to "take a look" - also called spy-hopping. No other shark does that. 

The best time to come see them?  April to September, because the water is warmer - despite it being winter (15-20 degrees celsius). This is also the time when the islands are full of female seals and their pups, the latter still learning to swim. Drowned pups are easy pickings for the Great Whites.

How do they catch the adult seals? Although the sharks are agile, so are the seals. The Great Whites have learnt that the best way to achieve success is by attacking from below - when the colour of their backs provides a perfect camouflage with the bottom of the sea. It's a vertical launch which takes the seals by surprise - the breach we have all seen on TV. Out comes the Great White - and if all went according to plan there's a little snack in its jaws ...

Great White Sharks have rigid fins and cannot stop suddenly - neither can they swim backward. They have no bones in their bodies which are made up of cartilage, making them extremely flexible.

Great Whites can go for days without a meal, but consume about ten tons of meat a year.

They are able to detect tiny concentrations of elements (such as blood) becaue of their acute sense of smell, enabling them to home in on prey by turning into the current.

The Great White Shark is an animal that inspires awe and fear: it is one of the world's foremost predators, equipped with the most formidable jaws in the animal kingdom. With attacks seemingly on the increase in the Western Cape region, as well as the increased popularity of Great White Shark tourism and cage diving, this giant of the deep is often in the news, but frequently for the wrong reasons. "South Africa's Great White Shark" is the definitive text for cage divers, marine biologists, tour guides, and photographers, providing in-depth coverage of Great White behaviour, ecology, conservation, ecotourism and the truth behind cage diving, chumming and shark 'attacks'.
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Go ahead and do it -  take the dive! 

Join this tour for the underwater experience of a lifetime as you scuba dive or snorkel with the Great White Sharks of South Africa! Take the opportunity during your stay in Cape Town to travel to the channels around Dyer Island and get up close and personal with the animal on top of the ocean's food chain.

The Gansbaai Net is your dedicated Information Bureau for the Gansbaai area - Gansbaai is the World Capital of the Great White Shark, Home of the Southern Right Whale and Fynbos Biome.

In South Africa, we are privileged to have access to great white sharks … if you know where to go, and when. White Shark Projects is without doubt the most successful white shark diving organisation in the world.

White Shark Discovery invites you to Discover, Observe and Dive with Great White Sharks at Dyer Island / Geyser Rock nearby Gansbaai - The World Capital of the Great White Shark.