“Great” May Be Gone From the Name, But These 10 White Shark Facts Are Pretty Killer
The film Jaws was Released for the first time 50 years ago in the summer of 1975. In the film, a vicious shark terrorizes a city in New England by tearing swimmers from the ocean. Although the mayor of the city initially denied that a men’s eating shark was to blame, he finally sent a team of three hunters to kill the beast.
The shark Jaws was ugly, aggressive and unpredictable. He has instilled fear to many people to the ocean and sharks. But many marine researchers say that it made them love sharks even more.
“”Jaws is my favorite film, “explains Steve Kessel, Marine ecologist and director of maritime research at the Aquarium John G. Shedd in Chicago.” I drank and put my mother to let myself look JawsAnd from that moment, there were sharks. »»
That Jaws is a favorite for marine researchers may not seem surprising. But here are 10 other intriguing facts on white sharks:
1. White sharks had a name change
(Image Credit: Screamingtrees_22 / Shutterstock)
During Jaws era, the Carcharod Carcharias was known as the Super white shark. Taxonomists had a problem with that because there was no less white shark, so it was not necessary to use a distinctive word like “Super”. Now he is known as the white shark.
“This has happened in the past five years,” said Kessel.
2. White sharks are in social distancing
The shark laboratoryA Research Institute of California State University of Long Beach has studied the behavior of sharks along the southern coast of California. They found that sharks regularly approached swimmers and surfers – people simply do not realize that it happens.
“Almost all the time, a shark is less than 50 meters (~ 160 feet) of a swimmer,” explains Kessel. “The interaction rates are so high. If they were dangerous, he would be taken there every day.”
However, people should be careful.
“These are large predatory animals, and you have to respect them. Listen to the rescuers. Do not pursue them, do not harass them, ”explains Kessel.
3. Sharks are much older than humans
Hominines came for the first time on the scene Six million years ago. Sharks are much older.
“The sharks in the oceans today, these species have just approximately 250 million years ago,” explains Kessel.
4. White sharks are not cold blood
“They are closer to hot blood,” says Kessel. “This gives them an acceleration advantage on other species because their muscles are already hot and ready to leave.”
5. White sharks are prudent hunters
The beast in Jaws was ready to bite on everything – boats, rafts and his disappearance (spoiler alert) a diving tank. In real life, white sharks will not move as long as they will not be sure they can succeed. Even then, they tend to mutilate their prey, not to fight it to death.
“They don’t want to be injured, so they hit [their prey] And then let them bleed to death or they will wait [the prey is] weak, ”says Kessel.
Learn more:: Do large white sharks attack blue whales 100 feet long?
6. White sharks are big babies
White shark puppies are about four feet long at birth. “White sharks are quite large at birth, compared to other species,” explains Kessel.
Their size helps dissuade other sharks that are not afraid to nibble on one of their own. “There are not a ton of things that will eat them at this size,” says Kessel.
7. White sharks live a long time
In the past, researchers thought that white sharks lived up to 50 years old. More recent estimates put their lifespan between 80 and 100 years, says Kessel.
8. White sharks are late flowering
(Image credit: Konstantin39 / Shutterstock)
Their long lifespan means that white sharks have enough time to grow. They can push more than 20 feet, and reaching their full size can take decades, says Kessel.
In 2024, a 30 -year -old shark washed on a Florida Beach. Scientists carried out an autopsy and found that even if the shark was already measuring 15 feet long, it was still not yet reproductive, but perhaps ready in the years to come if it had lived.
9. White sharks constantly push the teeth
Sharks have seven rows of teeth and the news is still developing.
“When you fall, there is one to take its place,” explains Kessel. “They do it because they don’t have such a strong bite as you think. They do not count on the strength of the bite but the sharpness. ”
10. White sharks are global
Certain species of sharks are only found in certain waters. However, white sharks have been seen worldwide.
“Tropical to the fresh waters, they found them in Scotland,” explains Kessel.
Learn more:: Great White Sharks regroups to tackle whales
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Emilie Lucchesi wrote for some of the country’s greatest newspapers, including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree from DEPAUL University. It also has a doctorate. In communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago by emphasizing the framing of the media, the construction of messages and the communication of stigmatization. Emilie is the author of three non-fiction books. His third, a light in the dark: survive more than Ted Bundy, released on October 3, 2023 from Chicago Review Press and is co-written with the survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.
