All articles tagged with #great white shark
A 63-year-old Greg O'ONeill, described as a devoted father and grandfather-to-be, was killed in a suspected great white attack while swimming at Sorrento Beach in Perth's northern suburbs, prompting Western Australia's fisheries minister to order a rare catch-and-kill of the protected great white to protect beachgoers and aid coronial investigations; he was the fifth fatal shark attack this year.
Beaches in Perth’s northern suburbs remain closed after a 63-year-old swimmer was killed by a large great white at Sorrento Beach. Western Australia’s fisheries minister authorised a catch‑and‑kill order for the attacking shark, while authorities continue search and patrols and consider further drone surveillance. The death is WA’s third fatal shark attack in 2026, with ongoing efforts to recover the swimmer’s body.
A 63-year-old man, Greg O’Neill, was killed by a great white shark at Sorrento Beach in Western Australia, prompting authorities to issue a rare catch-and-kill order for the shark involved and keep beaches closed as searches continue.
A Sydney primary school teacher, Leah Stewart, fought off a four-metre great white shark at Coogee Beach with a left hook after the shark dragged her underwater; she lost part of her left arm, spent time in an induced coma, and later recovered, as scientists warn warming oceans may be shifting shark patterns in Australia.
Australian primary school teacher Leah Stewart was mauled by a four-metre great white at Coogee Beach on June 13. She punched the shark with her left hook, was dragged underwater, and lost part of her left arm. She survived after being placed in an induced coma and later waking in hospital. Scientists say warming oceans may be shifting shark patterns, potentially contributing to more attacks in Australia, where several incidents have occurred in recent months.
Leah Stewart, a Sydney mother, was mauled by a 4-meter great white at Coogee Beach. She fought back by punching the shark as it dragged her underwater, sustaining severe injuries that led to multiple surgeries and an arm amputation, but she survived to tell the story for her daughter.
Researchers attached a fin-mounted camera to a nurse shark in Florida to study movement; the footage unexpectedly showed a great white cruising by for several minutes, offering a rare shark's-eye view of interspecies interaction.
A lifeguard at Scarborough Beach State Park in Maine was pulled underwater about 5–6 feet by a great white shark while using a rescue torpedo; he freed himself and returned to shore safely as officials briefly closed the beach and monitored ongoing shark activity in the area, with advisories urging caution and adherence to lifeguards' instructions.
Researchers from the California White Shark Project propose a systematic way to interpret scars on great white sharks, based on a 2025 Frontiers in Marine Science study. They cite a 16‑ft female great white with a circular head wound from a cookiecutter shark as an example, showing how scar patterns reveal interactions with prey, boats, mates, or entanglement. The team suggests offshore migration brings cookiecutter encounters and that certain scars—like hold bites that heal—could indicate offshore mating, helping scientists infer where and when white sharks reproduce.
Breton, a 1,400-pound great white tracked by OCEARCH since 2020, surprised scientists by moving south to the eastern Florida coast during summer, with a ping in unusually warm surface water around 87°F. Researchers believe he may be chasing pelagic prey and note that white sharks often dive to cooler depths, underscoring the species’ complex and less-predictable migration patterns.
Contender, the western Atlantic’s largest tagged male great white at about 1,650–1,700 pounds, is migrating north from the Outer Banks toward Cape Cod and eastern Canada. Researchers track him with a satellite tag that only reports when his fin surfaces, giving partial location data with an expected five-year lifespan. The migration aligns with cooler northern waters as oceans warm, where seals and large schooling fish attract great whites closer to shore. There’s no record of Contender harming people; beachgoers should follow safety advisories. Real-time movements are available on OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker, alongside data from more than 100 other tagged whites to aid conservation.
Award-winning photographer Jordan Robins captured a dramatic drone video at Jervis Bay as a 4-meter great white shark parted a dense school of Australian salmon and swam among them for about a minute before moving back to deeper water, marking one of his most incredible wildlife encounters.
A great white shark was seen swimming dangerously close to a group of children off the Southern California coast, with drone video showing the encounter from about a mile away. The photographer said the kids were unaware of the shark’s presence, noted a dorsal-fin wound that could be from a boat propeller, and observed the shark breach twice, suggesting the injury might keep it lingering and more willing to approach people.
Ripple, an 11 feet 6 inches, 778-pound subadult great white shark tracked by OCEARCH off Nova Scotia, has logged more than 8,000 miles along the U.S. East Coast and into the Gulf, with a latest ping about 45 miles off Cape Breton after a 354-mile week; OCEARCH says he could continue northeast toward Newfoundland or head northwest into the Gulf of St. Lawrence as cooler waters lure him north.
A 14-foot, roughly 1,700-pound male great white named Contender—the largest male white shark tagged in the western North Atlantic—has been detected off North Carolina’s Outer Banks and is likely migrating north toward Cape Cod, underscoring ongoing East Coast tracking of great whites; Deep Blue remains the largest-known great white at about 20 feet and 4,500 pounds.