If you’ve ever been lucky enough to see a great white shark breach, you know just how magnificent the most famous sharks are. They’re known for their size, strength, and speed, but feared and misunderstood for the same reasons. But you may have wondered why, exactly, they fling themselves out of the water. Sure, it’s part of their hunting strategy, but why do they do it?
See, great whites have evolved to basically be a perfect ocean hunter. They’re apex predators for the most part, with only a few other creatures (mainly orcas) able to take them on. That evolution has given them a few tools that put them at the top of their food chain.
“Great whites have incredible senses and can detect prey from miles away, even in murky water,” wrote researchers at White Shark Ocean.
Great whites are ambush predators, and breaching is one of their best methods when it comes to killing their prey.
“Breaching is especially effective when hunting fast-moving prey like seals and sea lions,” White Shark Ocean continued. “These animals are agile swimmers and can quickly evade a shark that is swimming in a straight line.”
Great whites seem to realize their shortcomings, so they most often hunt at dusk and dawn, when the light is low and they can be a little more sneaky. When a shark is hunting in an area with large numbers of fast-moving prey, they’re more likely to breach. The breach often is used to surprise their quarry, knocking it senseless for enough time for the shark to latch on. While breaching isn’t the only method a great white uses, it’s certainly one of the most effective. And as the slow-motion 4K clip at the top shows, it’s a hell of a way to catch a meal.
Editor’s Note: Learn how to minimize chances of an adverse shark encounter as well as critical information about shark behavior, shark personalities, shark language, what to do in the unlikely event of a shark bite, and more in 20-plus video lessons in Ocean Ramsey’s Guide to Sharks and Safety.
