Great Whites have a large, conical-shaped head. It has almost the same size upper and lower lobes on the tail fin, and commonly display counter-shading, having a white underside and a grey, sometimes brown dorsal area, that gives the shark and overall “mottled” appearance.
This type of colouration makes it difficult for prey to spot the shark as it very effectively breaks up the shark’s outline when seen from above, as the darker top half of the shark blends in with the sea.
In low visibility of 3-5m, even from an elevated vantage point of the boat’s viewing deck, it is difficult to spot the Great Whites approaching even at a depth of 2 meters. They simply blend in perfectly.
Article taken from: Great Whites of False Bay, South Africa by Dirk Schmidt
