Great White Shark at Surface

Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are marvels of evolution, with highly-evolved senses keeping them among the ocean’s top predators. However, they are threatened with extinction and listed on the IUCN Red List as "Vulnerable." Their biggest (and, perhaps, only) threat is people. Great whites are often portrayed as terrifying man-killers, which makes them a target for sport fishing and trophy hunters, who don't understand that humans do far more damage to sharks than sharks do to humans. They also can be killed by protective beach meshing, and are losing inshore habitats used as nursing grounds to encroaching development. Read 5 reasons we should revere, not fear, the shark and learn more about their biology.