What are behavioral traits of a shark?

Answer 1

Hope this Helps! White sharks' reputation as ferocious predators is well-earned, yet they are not (as was once believed) indiscriminate "eating machines". They typically hunt using an "ambush" technique, taking their prey by surprise from the bottom. Sometime they swim so fast that they actually jump out of the water while chasing/attacking seals. This is one of only a few sharks that can jump fully out of the water, the others are Thresher shark, Shortfin mako, Longfin mako, Spinner shark, Blacktip reef shark, Salmon shark, Porbeagle shark and the Copper shark. This is the only shark known to regularly lift its head above the sea surface to gaze at other objects such as prey; this is known as "spy-hopping", this behaviour have also been seen in at least one group of Blacktip reef sharks but this might be a behaviour learned from interaction with humans. It is theorized that the shark may also be able to smell better this way, since smells travel through air faster than through water.

More than any documented attack, Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws provided the Great White with the image of a "man eater" in the public mind. While Great Whites have been responsible for occasional fatalities in humans, they typically do not target humans as prey: for example, in the Mediterranean Sea there were 31 confirmed attacks against humans in the last two centuries, only a small number of them deadly. Many incidents seem to be caused by the animals "test-biting" out of curiosity. Great White Sharks are known to perform test-biting with buoys, flotsam, and other unfamiliar objects as well, and might grab a human or a surfboard with their mouth (their only tactile organ) in order to determine what kind of object it might be.

Other incidents seem to be cases of mistaken identity, in which a shark ambushes a bather or surfer, usually from below, believing the silhouette it sees on the surface is a seal. Many attacks occur in waters with low visibility, or other situations in which the shark's senses are impaired. It has been speculated that the species typically does not like the taste of humans, or at least that the taste is unfamiliar.

Humans, in any case, are not healthy for Great White sharks to eat because the sharks' digestion is too slow to cope with the human body's high ratio of bone to muscle and fat. Accordingly, in most recorded attacks, Great Whites have broken off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are usually caused by loss of blood from the initial limb injury rather than from critical organ loss or from whole consumption.

Biologist Douglas Long writes that the Great White's "role as a menace is exaggerated; more people are killed in the U.S. each year by dogs than have been killed by White sharks in the last 100 years." [3]

Many "shark repellents" have been tested, some using scent, others using protective clothing, but to date the most effective is an electronic beacon worn by the diver/surfer that creates an electric field which disturbs the shark's sensitive electro-receptive sense, the Ampullae of Lorenzini. -Kiki

Answer 2

The Great Whites main learned behaviour is it's curiosity. Like many Sharks they are curious of things they may not have come in contact with previously. Little is known about such things, however current research is still being gathered.

Answer 3

great white sharks are cool some of their behavioral characteristics are like looking for their own food

Answer 4

The great white shark can be as long as 26 feet and can weigh as much as 7,000 pounds. They reach maturity at around 15 years of age and can live to be 70 years old.

Answer 5

the lobes of the tail fin are the same size, large gill slits, and a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin.

Answer 6

Great white sharks are the most dangerous shark and they are the largest carnivorous fish.