A new paper published in the Journal of Marine Biology examines why great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) bite surfers. The traditional theory is that they mistake them for prey animals, typically seals, due to the surfer’s silhouettes from below. The paper suggest that this view is erroneous and that they tend to bite in order to identify things in their environment. (Image from Shutterstock).
In his column this month, Don Silcock shares his words and stunning images of diving and photographing greta white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off the southern coast of Australia.
Allen Walker had the amazing experience of diving and photographing a great white shark outside of a cage while it was feeding naturally. Over two days, Allen shot images of sharks feeding on a whale carcass off Aliwal Shoal, South Africa, including this image.
A new paper published in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research has suggested that great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) only reach sexual maturity at age 26 for males and 33 for females. In addition the paper suggest that great whites grow slower and live longer then had been previously thought, with a possible life expectancy of 70 years. Aging was carried out by counting “band pairs” of growth on shark vertebrae. (Image from Shutterstock)
The U.S. Federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has declined to protect great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off the coast of California under the Endangered Species Act. This was despite there being significant scientific evidence that the Californian populations consists of less than 350 animals. (Image from Shutterstock)