Projekte aus dem Unterricht der FOS/BOS Scheyern

Autoren: Ludwig Lax, Manuel Krauß, Thomas Paril

Because of its length, a shark can also be very dangerous for humans. Until today, 272 shark attacks in which the great white shark was identified have been documented. 20 percent of them ended with the death.

Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel “Jaws”, about a shark which attacks humans and the following legendary movie with the same title by Steven Spielberg represents the sharks with the image of man-eaters.

However, a shark does not specifically attack humans. These attacks are simply test-bites, they want to know what is in the sea. Most humans are too bony for the sharks. They prefer a protein-rich seal or a big seagull.

In most of the cases the shark stopped his attack after the first bite and the victims mostly have no problem to escape. So sharks are full of curiosity and not aggressive killers.

Habitat and nutrition

The great white shark is common in all oceans in the world particularly on the coasts of South Africa, Australia and the East Pacific. Most of the time the white shark occurs in a sea height between 300 and 500 Meters or near the water surface. The white sharks prefer waters which have a temperature between 12 and 24°C. Their meals actually consist of robes, fish and seagulls.

Extinction of the White Shark

The shark is repeatedly presented as a killing machine by the media. The consequence is that the white shark is hunted all over the world. In addition, shark fins are very popular in Asian cuisine. As a result its stock is estimated to be not more than 3000 in all oceans. These two facts are the reason that the white shark is one of the most endangered creatures in the world. Nevertheless humans will not stop hunting the great white shark which is really required for the Earth’s ecological balance. According to ocean scientists the white shark will die out in the next twenty years if humans don’t stop killing it.