Sunday, March 30, 2008

What Do Great White Sharks Eat

I have a real fascination with sharks and I have written quite a few posts about sharks which you can have a look through here - index of shark posts. I also promised more "fact" posts so I thought that I would combine the two to put together todays post.

Great white sharks are the biggest and most well respected of the sharks. They are a fierce predator and many stories have been shared at the local pub about the close encounters with these awesome animals. They are aggressive animals and the sight of a great white shark feeding is an unforgettable experience.

What do Great White Sharks Eat
Great white sharks locate their prey with smell and sound and they can smell their prey from kilometers away. Great white sharks typically stay below their prey and ambush them, taking them by complete surprise.
Great white sharks are carnivorous (meat eater) and feed on animals with high fat content. Primarily the great white sharks diet is made up of :

  • fish
  • tuna
  • stingrays
  • smaller sharks
  • porpoises
  • dolphins
  • whales
  • seals
  • fur seals
  • sea lions.

Great white sharks have also been known to eat sea turtles. I found it interesting that while great white sharks will attack sea otters and penguins they very rarely eat them. Great white sharks will also eat pig carcasses if they find their way to the ocean.

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