Twelve great white shark facts, fact-checked
The great white (Carcharodon carcharias) is the largest predatory fish alive and one of the least understood. Full profile in our great white shark guide.
1. Nobody has filmed them mating or giving birth
Despite decades of research, great white reproduction has never been directly observed in the wild — a remarkable gap for such a studied animal.
2. They are partly warm-blooded
Regional endothermy keeps muscle, gut, brain and eyes above ambient water temperature, allowing faster swimming and better vision in cold water.
3. They sense electricity
Jelly-filled pores called ampullae of Lorenzini detect the tiny electrical fields every living animal produces, letting a shark locate prey buried in sand or in darkness.
4. Teeth are replaced continuously
Rows of replacement teeth rotate forward throughout life, so a shark may get through thousands.
5. They can reach about 6 m
Verified large individuals approach 6 m and roughly 2 tonnes. Females are larger than males.
6. They breach when hunting seals
Off parts of South Africa, great whites accelerate from below fast enough to launch clear of the water — an attack strategy tied to specific seal colonies.
7. Their bite is exploratory as well as lethal
Many bites on surfboards and people are single investigative bites rather than predation. It does not make them harmless, but it explains why most bite victims survive.
8. They cross oceans
Tagged individuals have crossed from South Africa to Australia and back, and Pacific sharks return annually to a mid-ocean area known as the White Shark Café.
9. Countershading hides them
A grey back blends with the seabed from above and a white belly with bright surface light from below.
10. They are slow to reproduce
Late maturity, long gestation and small litters mean populations recover extremely slowly from losses — the core reason they are Vulnerable.
11. Orcas can displace them
Where orcas that specialise in shark livers appear, great whites abandon the area for months, documented off California and South Africa.
12. They kill far fewer people than people think
Unprovoked fatal bites worldwide number in the low single figures most years, across all shark species combined.
Read the full great white shark wildlife guide for IUCN status, population context and sources — or donate to WARN to help fund the partner teams protecting wildlife on the ground.
