Sharks are the silent killers of the deep that strike terror and fear into the hearts of many a surfer, bogey boarder or even casual swimmer ..There is a reason for this, because the shark is nature’s perfect killing machine…They have not evolved significantly for millions of years because they don’t have to!…The great white shark has been around longer than the dinosaurs…

Their natural prey is sea lions, elephant seals and other marine animals, but from below, a surfer or bogey boarder with arms and legs dangling and thrashing or even a swimmer can resemble a seal or walrus and cause the great white sharks primitive brain to react with swift and deadly force….They evoke a terrifying, primal fear in humans confronted by a shark…

Great whites use their speed and coloring to help them hunt. They search for prey at the surface of the ocean while swimming below. Once they spot a target, they use a burst of speed to bump their prey while simultaneously biting it. They have several rows of teeth that can number into the thousands. As teeth fall out, they are rapidly replaced by those in the row behind them. These sharp, serrated teeth can be devastating. A single, large bite can be fatal.

There has been a massive influx of sharks in the northern California area this year, perhaps because of the current “El Nino” weather pattern which warms the water…Great white sharks have been listed as a “protected species” numbering only 200-400…But recent studies have indicated that there are more than 2400 great white sharks off the Bay Area coast! Yikes!…According to Jean Michel Cousteau “A great white shark can smell one drop of blood from about 600 yards and it’s ability to detect subtle electric fields produced by prey is 5 million times greater than humans”…

Also from Google “The great white shark averages 4.5 m (15 ft.) in length, but some have been recorded as large as 6 m (20 ft.) long! They generally weigh up to 2250 kg (5000 lb – The great white sharks are at the top of the food chain, and have no natural enemies…According to my Google stats, “The great white shark has been involved in some of the most chilling attacks on humans. In 1985, Australian Shirley Ann Durdin was torn in two and then devoured by a white shark. Rodney Fox had his lungs and stomach ripped open and required more than 360 stitches in a 1963 attack. In 2008, Dave Martin was killed in California when a great white bit off his legs.

The great white shark does outrank all other sharks in the number of shark attacks. As of May 2008, the great white had racked up 238 unprovoked attacks and 95 boat attacks, resulting in 65 fatalities…More modern stats put the number of shark attacks on the upswing….There have been 23 attacks already in 2015….Typically, the U.S. sees about 30 to 40 attacks, of which either zero or one is deadly, the Shark Attack File reported. To reach more than half the average number of attacks so early in the season and already have a fatality puts this year a bit above average”

In the smash 1975 hit movie “Jaws” a shark expert described the shark as “Like a locomotive with a mouth full of butcher knives.” The good news is that humans, because of their muscle content, aren’t a very good meal for great whites, who crave fatty blubber. Many shark attack victims live to tell their tale because the shark takes a bite, as if to taste it. While this will be small comfort to anyone ever trapped in the mouth of a shark, it may just be a case of mistaken identity…There have been many movies since about shark attacks on humans, it fascinates and repels us at the same time…

Many scientists now believe that great white sharks are intelligent, highly inquisitive creatures. When great whites gather, they seem to show different behaviors, from open-mouthed gaping at one another to assertive body-slams. These sharks are top predators throughout the world’s ocean, predominantly in temperate and subtropical waters. Great whites migrate long distances. Some make journeys from the Hawaiian Islands to California, and one shark that swam from from South Africa to Australia made the longest recorded migration of any fish.

The torpedo shape of the great white is built for speed: up to 35 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour). And then there are the teeth — 300 total in up to seven rows.

But more than brawn, the great white shark has a tremendous brain that coordinates all the highly developed senses of this efficient hunter. Its prey, including seals and dolphins, are very clever animals, and the shark has to have enough brains to outsmart them.

Despite their reputation as lone hunters, great whites will cooperate with one another, hunting in groups and sharing the spoils. Ironically, the sharks only real enemy is mankind…One of the most comprehensive studies ever compiled on illegal shark killing brings new startling statistics. “An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year around the world, a number that far exceeds what many populations need to recover…..

The culprit is the proliferation of illegal shark finning that spiked in the 1990s to feed appetites for shark fin soup, a delicacy in parts of Asia on par with fine truffles or expensive caviar. According to some reports, a bowl of shark fin soup can sell for as much as $100!”

So in actuality the shark is in more danger than the humans, but try to reassure and convince yourself of this statistical fact if you are out in the ocean surfing or swimming and see the distinctive shark fin planing in the water towards you, especially if you are bleeding for any reason! This landlubber is going to stay away from any such potentially deadly situations…But you can always have fun and take your chances…After all, nobody lives forever…

But man, what a way to go! “Shivers down my back bone!”