Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are famous in South Africa and can be found in South African shores right through the year, which makes this a great opportunity to see Great Whites in a way that many people would never think possible. Great White Shark is also known as White Pointers, White Sharks or Great Whites. This is due to the large size and color of the Great White Shark. Females can reach up to 6.1m (20f) long and weighing in at 1900kg(4200lb). On average Males reach up to about 3m -4m in length and females reach between 4m - 6m in length. What is also very impressive is the girth of a Great White Shark. It is understood that White Pointers live up to 70 years of age or more according to a study in 2014. According to the same study, it takes 26 years for a male to reach sexual maturity and 33 years for a female to bear offspring. are part of the Mackerel Shark Family. Great Whites can swim at speeds of 56km(35mph) per hour and swim at depths of 1200m (3900ft).
The White Pointers are not known to have natural Predators, but Killer Whales do eat the livers of Great White Sharks and have affected the Shark Cage Diving industry in Cape Town and Gansbaai before, with 2 Rogue Killer Whales known as Starboard and Port. These are 2 very old Killer Whales that may have been rejected by its original family and went rogue and found a food source here in Cape Town and Gansbaai. The Fisherman gave them this name due to the way the 2 Killer Whales Dorsal Fin, was pointing towards each other when swimming together.
The White Shark is the worlds biggest extant macropredatory fish and one of the many primary predators of marine mammals. They also prey on fish and seabirds. Great Whites are also responsible for the most recorded human bite accidents than any other shark.
The White Pointer is facing a lot of ecological challenges which has resulted in the Great White Shark receiving international Protection and is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a vulnerable species.
Unfortunately, the novel Jaws by Peter Benchley a the film produced by Steven Spielberg has given the Great White Shark a bad name as a 'Ferocious Man Eater'. Humans are DEFINITELY NOT their preferred prey. But due to their curious nature, they are responsible for the largest amount for reported unprovoked fatal Shark Attacks on humans.
Peak season for the Great White Shark’s is in the South African Winter, from June to end of August, when Great Whites feed on Cape Fur Seal. This is also a great opportunity to see the Famous Breaching of Great White Sharks that South Africa has become famous for, as they Breach on its prey (known as Predation) is very unique to South Africa. People come from all over the world to witness this AMAZING phenomenon.
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