Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)
Great white sharks are widely feared as the most dangerous of man-eaters, but they are at far greater risk from us than we from them. They are responsible for about 5-10 attacks a year.
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
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Shark hunt
Wild Africa
Rich fishing attracts seals and, in turn, much larger predators.
The abundance of fish in the cold waters off the Southern African coast attracts vast numbers of fur seals. These in turn attract larger predators - fearsome great white sharks. The sharks stalk these oceans, powering from the deep like missiles to ambush the fur seals.
Great white predator
Planet Earth
Slow motion cameras capture the immense power and agility of a breaching great white.
Extraordinary footage from an ultra-high speed camera captures and illuminates shark behaviour in a wholly new way. As the great white shoots vertically out of the water a Photron camera films at 1,000 frames per second. Slowed down 40 times, this single second of action reveals the immense power and agility of the ocean's master predator. Every nuance of its behaviour becomes evident as the shark toys with its prey. This was the favourite Planet Earth clip when the series was first broadcast.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Archived
Planet Earth: Ice Worlds
David Attenborough examines the frozen worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic.
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Archived
Wild Africa: COASTS
This programme travels around Africa's coast line.The Coast acts as a magnet for animals from the interior,and provokes the most surprising encounters.
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Archived
Natural World: Great White Shark - A Living Legend
Mike Rutzen swims into great white shark hunting grounds to understand them better.
Earth News
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Great whites 'plan' seal attacks
Great white sharks do not aimlessly wander the ocean waiting to stumble upon their next meal.
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Testing the Great White's bite
Enrico Gennari from the South Africa Marine Predator Lab demonstrates how his team measure the strength of a Great White shark's bite.
Featured in...
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David Attenborough's favourite moments
David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting.
Scientific Classification
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Lamnidae
Genus: Carcharodon
Species: Great white shark (carcharias)
Common Names
- White death
- White pointer
- White shark
The Great white shark is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Great white shark is Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Unknown
Year assessed: 2005
Site links
BBC links
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