Immediately recognisable by its long tail – which it uses to herd and stun squid and schools of fish – this shark can leap up to 6m out of the water. It poses no threat to humans unless provoked. Frequently seen by divers in rocky gullies and caves throughout its range – south from the Queensland-NSW border to the Houtman Abrolhos, WA, including Tasmania – it feeds at night on starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and molluscs. With a pig-like snout, conspicuous ridges above the eyes and a harness-like pattern across the shoulder, this is a distinctive-looking shark. It filterfeeds on plankton, but also eats prawns, crabs, schooling fish and occasionally tuna and squid. Highly migratory and found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, it appears alone or in large groups. The world’s largest living fish, this gentle giant is often found near the surface, where snorkellers can swim alongside it. Feeds on fish and marine mammals such as seals. It favours cool, shallow, temperate seas, and is most commonly found in southern Australian waters from Exmouth, WA, to southern Queensland. Protected throughout Australian waters, the largest flesh-eating shark in the world’s oceans is responsible for the majority of unprovoked attacks on humans. Related: Megalodon: fact from fiction GUIDE TO THE COMMON SHARK SPECIES OF AUSTRALIA Great white shark One cage tour operator has found that great white sharks are attracted to music by Aussie band AC/DC. In other cases shark repellents, based on reactions to smells tastes and sounds have been developed.
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Sometimes culls of sharks are mooted after attacks, but they have little effect on minimising the threat and provoke outrage from conservationists. If you do encounter a shark, there are steps you can take to minimise the risk of being attacked. The reasons are unclear, but other experts argue humans are to blame for an increase in attacks. Nevertheless, in a 10-month period up to July 2012, five people were likely killed by great white sharks off the coast of WA – enough to have the region dubbed the ‘shark attack capital’ of the world. They argue that shark attacks should, in many cases, be described instead as encounters. In 2013 an international research team examined global shark encounter data and discovered that the term ‘shark attack’ is widely used to describe almost all interactions between humans and sharks, even those that involve no physical contact and do not lead to injury. Australia is the nation with the second highest number of shark attacks (after the US) and the highest number of fatalities (217).
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On a worldwide scale there had been 2463 confirmed, unprovoked shark attacks between 15.