Asian Diver – March 2018

BREACHING
In False Bay, South Africa, sharks
ambush brown fur seals from below and
attack vertically at such high speeds
they completely leave the water. These
attacks most often occur in the early
morning when visibility is poor, yet
even when conditions are in the sharks’
favour, only half of all observed breach
attacks are a success

Porpoise

Shark

SNOUT, JAWS AND TEETH

The snout is blunt and conical, and the huge jaws contain 5–6 rows of large serrated

teeth that help to saw off large chunks of flesh from its prey. There are approximately

24 exposed teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, and whenever the shark loses a

tooth, another one simply moves forward to take its place

DIET
One of the primary predators of marine
mammals, large numbers of mature
great whites are found around seal colonies,
while juveniles predominantly feed on fish
until their jaws are strong enough to target
larger prey. They are highly opportunistic
and prefer food with a high content of
energy-rich fat. They will consume bony fish
including other sharks and rays, cetaceans,
pinnipeds, sea turtles and seabirds

Seal Colony Seabird Sea Turtle

Bony Fish Ray

Shark’s View

Seal

Island

Attack

Path

Seal’s Path

Bottom

Depth

Penetration of

Seal Vision

J AWS THE MOVIE

The novel Jaws by Peter Benchley and

the subsequent film by Steven Spielberg

depicted the great white as a ferocious

man-eater that targets humans, and

made millions of people scared to go in

the water for fear of being attacked. Later

in life, Benchley came to regret writing

the book as he realised it encouraged

excessive fear and exploitation of

such an important ocean predator. He

then became an outspoken advocate for

marine conservation and sharks

Dolphin