Great White

 

But, it is these sharks that need protecting for they are the ones living at the top of the food chain in the worlds oceans. They play a key role in the ecology through-out the worlds oceans. And, yet they have been hunted down over the years just because they have been so aligned with coming into contact and attacking man. It is too often man in retaliation relentlessly sets out to hunt down these sharks without any regard to the ecological effects they continue to have on our oceans. There are many documented cases about how entire ecosystems are so disrupted or altered when an apex predator such as the Great White is eliminated or drastically reduced in number. That the balance of nature when it is disrupted because of mans indifference and ignorance has ramifications that are felt all over the world. Today, even with all the sightings of sharks in practically every corner of the globe sharks still continue to be hunted not for man’s survival but for trophy. And that is the real ultimate travesty.

 

So little is known about Great Whites even with all the latest scientific technology today. We really don’t know where they mate, the length of their reproductive cycle, or where their young are born. We can only speculate to where the females go to give birth and have an educated guess on their life spans. What we do know however is that female Great Whites are capable of bearing multiple births, two or three at the most at a time. What is abundantly clear though is that shark populations including the Great White are at risk worldwide.

 

To get a better picture on the nature of these wonders of the ocean over the past year in Sydney Australia Professor Gladstone began observing and surveying two Great White nurseries. These nurseries are located on the east coast near Seal Rocks. Seals of course are the Great Whites favorite delicacy. So it is no wonder that sharks congregate near there. It is there that he and other scientists work will fill in the missing links in our knowledge about this most elusive creatures of the deep. This work includes finding a better idea of just how many great Whites there are and whether their protected status as a threatened species is effective. Apparently according to recent statistics though the Great White protective status isn’t enough to keep poachers and fisheries from hunting down all manner of sharks including the Great White. More has to be done to protect and secure that sharks who’s own purpose is to keep the balance of the worlds oceans in check.

 

What scientists are finding out is that young female White sharks start giving birth at around when they reach the age of 14 and then breed only every three years. It is when these Great Whites swim close to shore that man has been in the wrong place at the wrong time only to find out that the shark has inadvertently mistaken then for their favorite meal which is actually close by. Seals are by far the favorite meal of appeal for the Great White.