The Great White Shark has long instilled fear in people, and for many symbolises the ultimate predator. The film Jaws did nothing to alleviate the fears of people, but made them more fearful of this giant creature. These beautiful creatures were hunted and killed to near extinction by people for many years, but have thankfully now become protected in several areas of the world. This week the Auckland Museum will perform a public dissection of a female Great White Shark found dead in a net, in order to show the public that these vulnerable fish have been unfairly labelled and deserve our protection.

The public dissection will be the first of its kind, and scientists are hoping to cast off the myths revolving around the Great White Sharks. They intend to show the public that the shark’s diet consists primarily of fish and seal meat. Great Whites can grow up to twenty feet in length and little is known about these amazing creatures. They are now protected in several parts of the world, including New Zealand and Australia, and scientists are hoping to educate people about the sharks and distil any remaining fears.

Tags: australia, autopsy, dissection, extinction, great white, Jaws, myth, new zealand, protection, public, shark, vulnerable

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.