The great white shark

The great white shark is at the top of the marine food chain. In the shark family, it is the king, it will eat anything, even other shark. But as it get older, bigger and slower, it develops a preference for seals, penguins and carrion, especially dead whales. In locating their food, most shark use all their senses, including excellent vision. Their sense of smell is incredible and their ears are aided by pressure sensitive cells along each side of their body. Nothing escapes this eavesdropping system, which is attuned to vibrations in the water. Shark also have a sixth sense which enable them to detect the weak electrical fields emanating from the beating heart or the swimming muscles of a potential prey. The white shark most fear some assets are its huge head, its black eye's and its razor Sharp, serrated teeth. The circulatory system of the white shark is different from that of the most sharks. Its blood temperature is about 3 to 5 degrees Celsius above water temperature, this speeds up digestion and adds to its strength and endurance. It is known that the white shark spits out its wounded prey after an initial, powerful bite. Then it waits for the victim to die before eating it. Why does it use this bite and spit strategy? Expert speculate that this is because of its eyes. Unlike other shark, the white shark has no eyelid like membrane to protect its eye, rather it rotate them in their sockets when a collision is imminent. At the moment of impact, the eye is left exposed, perhaps to the flaying claws of a seal. Therefore, for the white shark, the white shark, a quick mortal strike and release is common behavior. Nevertheless it is a dangerous animal that should be treated with caution and respect.