Photo Gallery: Great White Sharks

With the tip of its classic dorsal fin protruding through the water’s surface, a great white shark swims above a school of fish that are most likely too small for the behemoth to bother chasing down for an afternoon snack.
Photograph by DLILLC/Corbis

Despite the widespread fear of these enormous predators, great white shark attacks are rarely fatal. Most of the attacks are “sample bites” from the curious fish as they try to decide whether to go through the effort of a full attack. Luckily, they usually decide against making people their next meal.
Photograph by Eric Hanauer/Alamy

Near a seal colony in South Africa, a great white shark breaches, leaping for a decoy being pulled across the surface.
Photograph by David Doubilet

New Zealand fur seals swim warily above a great white shark, the largest predatory fish in the seas. Unfortunately for them, seals are one of these sharks’ favorite meals.