c1094.txt

Despite its worldwide notoriety, very little is known about the natural ecology and behaviour of this predator. These sharks are usually solitary or occur in pairs, although it is apparently a social animal that can also be found in small aggregations of 10 or more, particularly around a carcass (3) (6). Females are ovoviviparous; the pups hatch from eggs retained within their mother's body, and she then gives birth to live young (10). Great white sharks are particularly slow-growing, late maturing and long-lived, with a small litter size and low reproductive capacity (8). Females do not reproduce until they reach about 4.5 to 5 metres in length, and litter sizes range from two to ten pups (8). The length of gestation is not known but estimated at between 12 and 18 months, and it is likely that these sharks only reproduce every two or three years (8) (11). After birth, there is no maternal care, and despite their large size, survival of young is thought to be low (8). Great whites are at the top of the marine food chain, and these sharks are skilled predators.