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Great White Sharks have been a fascination on this planet for as long as they’ve been alive. They have been the rulers of the sea and possibly one of the most feared animals on the planet out of the entire animal kingdom. These creatures are often lone wolves. They are known to congregate either to migrate or mate but are extremely territorial with food. The study of White Sharks has been a very difficult task for several reasons. They are hard to find, they are aggressive, and technology has only just started developing to where we can tag them. There is very little knowledge on when and how sharks mate. It hasbeen a very hard task even tagging the amount of whitesharks we have today. Their migration patterns, however, are one big step forward to finding out more about these sharks.

Great White Sharks

Feeding and Lifespan

Each year Great White Sharks will migrate over long distances from their feeding grounds of central California, to open ocean where food is extremely scarce. Some of the tagged animals have been seen to travel up to 2,500 miles. Scientists believe that these sharks migrate to areas of very low population in order to mate and spawn their youth. However like most things about his shark, this is only a popular theory.

White Shark Migration

As of today there is only one popular tagging method which is satellite tags. Like I mentioned before, the amount of resources we have available to us when it comes to a safe and reliable way of tracking these animals is very limited.

Tagging MisunderstandingsSharks of every kind have been one of the most misunderstood creatures of all time. Thanks to the very well made critically acclaimed movie “Jaws” people all over the world were spooked enough in theaters to actually believe a word Hollywood says. One extreme example being, shortly after the film was released, Australia decided to create their Imminent threat policy on great white sharks stating: “If a great white shark comes within 3 miles of any shore they are allowed to be caught and killed due to their imminent threat.” That’s equivalent to me walking 3 miles to close to a bank with a hoody on, then getting arrested for robbing the bank. Fact of the matter is, these animals only usually act out with aggression in cases of self defense or if they are literally starving to death. Everyone seems to forget that we are swimming in their home, last time I checked all humans have ever done was invade some other creatures home. To say this predator targets humans is completely false. For humans don’t have enough fat and other required nutrients sharks look for in a meal. If you are bit by a shark, which by the way is a 1 in 11.5 million chance, it is all your fault.

ConclusionIt is safe to say that very little on this beautiful creature is known. However, just yesterday a senior scientist for the ocean research organization Ocearch, found that 6 of their15+ footer sharks have all gathered for their routine feeding routes just off the coast of Florida. What impeccable timing, this evidence further proves that sharks are indeed creatures who travel in packs even when looking to feed! The evidence found on these animals getmore and more intriguing by the day. The fact that thesesharks have been around since the prehistoric ages leads me to believe that we can learn a thing or two from the further study of these animals. I hope one day I will be able to contribute towards more research, and that governments will fund more of these companies interested in the bahvioreal and migration patterns of these animals.

SourcesCBS News. “Cluster of Massive Great White Sharks Spotted off Carolina Coast.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 17 May 2019, www.cbsnews.com/news/great-white-shark-cluster-off-the-carolina-coast/.Domeier, Michael L. Global Perspectives on the Biology and Life History of the White Shark. Taylor & Francis, 2012.Michael L Domeier, and Nicole Nasby-Lucas. “Two-Year Migration of Adult Female White Sharks ( Carcharodon Carcharias) Reveals Widely Separated Nursery Areas and Conservation Concerns.” Animal Biotelemetry, BioMed Central, 4 Apr. 2013, animalbiotelemetry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2050-3385-1-2.Klimley, A. Peter., and David G. Ainley. Great White Sharks: the Biology of Carcharodon Carcharias. Academic Press, 1996.

Great White sharks are famous for a lot of unique characteristics. One that stands out most is their feeding, what and how much can a Great White Shark really eat? First of all, these sharks are known to eat pretty much everything. Scientists and fisherman have found anything from 200 lbs. worth of seal blubber to a disabled torpedo. Getting down to the facts, researchers believe that for a 2,000 pound regular sized white, the shark would need to eat 66lbs in order to survive the next 15 days. With the help of 3,000 teeth and the ability to attack from below at speeds of up to 35 mph, this goal is very reachable. Great Whites like to feed on any animal with blubber.Mainly due to storing enough fat in their systems to survive their great migration periods. Because of this diet and their athletic shape, White sharks have been found to live up to or around 70 years of age, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fish currently known.

Andrew MillesMarine Biology Research PresentationGreat White Shark Migration

Looking at the image above we can get an idea of wherethese sharks like to call home. Seems like this one despised the idea of visiting San Diego completely. I really don’t blame him, the weather has been pretty bad. But Great Whites often live in areas where they can feed. This mostly consists of shores and coastlines. They prefer temperatures between 12 and 24 °C (54 and 75 °F) for they need to keep a bodily temperature of 25 degrees F. During their trek out to open water, due to the lack of food, researchers believesharks thrive off their fat glands from previous meals to survive the long swim. White Sharks also move in alternating phases of swimming and drift diving. Drift diving is an energy-saving strategy to travel more distance. When a shark stops swimming, its momentum continues to carry it forward as it drifts downward. The rate of descent during a drift dive depends on the buoyancy of the shark; the higher its buoyancy, the slower its rate of descent.

Above we have a photo of the most used of the two methods of tagging. The satellite tag, Pop-up satellite archival tags are archival tags also have the capacity to transmit the stored information to a satellite. The tag is typically inserted into the dorsal fin with a barb, while the tag itself remains outside the animal. Pop up satellite tags typically log temperature, depth and light intensity. As with the archival tags, light can be used to calculate latitude and longitude and offer estimates of fish position. After a predetermined amount of time, the tag releases from the fish, floats to the surface and uploads its data to the satellite data base

Of course in order to tag these animals we first need to find them. Sharks have an amazing sense of smell, according to national geographic, sharks can detect one drop of blood for every 25 gallons of water. That is the ability to smell one drop 3 miles away. A common method, as seen above, to attract sharks is chumming the waters. Scientists will sit and chum until one of these predators shows up. Which is an extremely hard task for its like finding a needle in a haystack.