The thrill, adventure, and amusement available at the ocean, beaches, and underwater are unmatched, which is further enhanced by the sight of the most amazing creature, the shark. As many other factors have contributed to the ecotourism industry’s growth, sharks are at the top of the list. Hundreds and thousands of tourist’s head to the oceans and beaches just to catch a glimpse and, more importantly, to see sharks jumping out of the water.
Inhabiting the world’s oceans way before the dinosaurs existed, sharks are truly an incredible ocean species exhibiting various qualities, attributes, and traits. There are over 500 species of sharks discovered so far, and many more are waiting to be explored.
Great white sharks are distinctive and are known for their aggressive behavior. When it comes to the most dangerous species of sharks, great whites take the top position. It also holds the record for most shark attacks on humans.
With an approximate size of 20 feet, great whites are the largest predatory shark. Exhibiting predatory behavior, great white sharks are the top predators hunting down dolphins, fish, large mammals, and even other sharks. Great white sharks can tear apart everything and anything in their path as they have enormous mouths with powerful jaws and serrated knife-sharp teeth.
There may be a general perception that dolphins can leap out of the water, but not everyone believes sharks can do the same. Not a long ago, there were reports of great whites leaping off the coast of New Zealand.
If you are in doubt, it should be clear by now as sharks do have the capabilities to leap; however, it’s not true for every species, but only a few can do it. It is, however, surprising that great white sharks are one of the few species that can leap, even though they are large and carry heavy weight .
The question that comes into people’s minds is how high great white sharks can jump. Is it about a few inches only or too high that you can clearly, see? Let’s find out.
How high can a great white shark jump out of the water?
The behavior of sharks jumping out of the water is often referred to as breaching. It is not common to see sharks jump out of the water the great white shark, so consider yourself fortunate if you have seen one doing so. Those who haven’t experienced the scene must know that great white sharks can jump high that you can capture the moment with your phone, given that you are not frozen out of the joy.
The great white shark is known to be capable of leaping from 8 to 10 feet high out of the water, and some have even been reported to jump as high as 15 feet.
What are some other sharks that can jump?
Along with great whites, there are a few other species that have the capabilities to leap. That includes the species known as the Spinner sharks, Mako, and Thresher sharks. Other than that, you may also see basking sharks and blacktip sharks doing the same.
Since giant basking sharks eat plankton, they are not as aggressive or possess hunting capabilities as the great whites. However, when it comes to breaching, you will find them competing enough in terms of speed and energy.
In the case of spinner sharks, as the name implies, they do not only breach but also spin like no other species can do. Surely that is going to be a spectacular display of skill. Blacktips are also believed to fly high in a similar manner.
Talking about who takes the big jump, the spinner and thresher shark both can jump as high as 6 meters or, in other words, around 20 feet high above the water surface. On the other hand, the basking sharks are only able to jump 1.2 meters above in the air. Know that basking sharks are filter feeders, and they mainly rely on zooplankton as their primary food source.
With this, also keep in mind that to propel themselves out of the sea, sharks must expend a great deal of energy, so it’s a relatively rare sight.
Moving forward, the spinner and thresher sharks are not the winners here when it comes to the highest jumping. It is the Mako shark that takes the top position with the capability to leap above the water surface as high as 9 meters, or you can say 29.5 feet.
Conclusion
It turns out that great white sharks or also known as the white pointers, are not only famous for their aggressiveness but also for their breaching behavior. They normally jump 8 to 10 feet high while swimming at 25 kilometers per hour. However, sometimes they can jump much higher.
The sight of a great white shark bursting out of the water is one of the most breathtaking moments of your life, but only if you can see one. Get to know where great white sharks are found so you may have a good chance to see them breaching.