Amazing Animals: Great White Shark Quiz

Great white sharks are far and away the leading species when it comes to the number of shark attacks. As of May 2008, 238 unprovoked attacks and 95 boat attacks, resulting in 65 fatalities, have been officially recorded. This trounces the species with the second most attacks, the tiger shark, which has 88 recorded attacks.

Scientists who have studied the stomachs of great white sharks say that humans have far too much muscle content to be an ideal dinner for great whites. Sharks want fatty blubber from animals like seals when they feed, not muscle.

A great white's main prey is any type of pinniped, or aquatic carnivore. Seals and sea lions can be up to 50 percent fat, satisfying a shark's craving for blubber.

Great whites consume roughly 11 tons of food each year. To give you an idea of just how much grub this is, a 150-pound human eats about half a ton of food in the same amount of time.

Great whites usually use the underwater approach, lurking beneath the surface before coming within a few feet of their targets and attacking. When they attack using this method, great whites bring their head to the surface to bite their victim and then swim away and let it bleed to death.

The great white shark's scientific name, Carcharodon carcharias, means "ragged tooth" in Latin. Each great white has about 3,000 serrated teeth.

A typical great white weighs in at about 4,500 pounds and grows to a maximum length of about 20 feet. Great whites are the largest predatory fish in the sea, as the only bigger sharks feed on plankton and small fish.

You can't find great whites at your local aquarium because they're extremely difficult to keep in captivity, assuming they survive the capture and transport to an aquarium. Aquarium officials have had little success determining the food, water and type of tank necessary to accommodate a great white shark.

Sharks grow in eggs that are hatched inside the mother. A litter will normally number anywhere from two to 10 pups. At birth, great white pups are about 5 feet long and weigh 77 pounds or so.

Great whites grow slowly and usually live about 30 years. Males reach maturity at about age 10, while females reach maturity at about age 15.