It is known that a single bite from an adult Great White Shark can take around 31 pounds of flesh. These truly are a supreme predator.
The only creatures that would dare try to hunt Great Whites are the Killer Whale or the Orca. Both are bigger than the Great White Shark.
In this article, we will be discussing the largest Great White Sharks that have ever been recorded in history.
The Average Size Of A Great White Shark
Great White pups are typically born around 3.9 feet long. Then every year they will typically grow around 9.8 inches/ 25 cm.
The larger female Great White Sharks can possibly grow to around 20 feet and weigh up to 4,200 pounds.
Yet generally, a male Great White will grow to up to 13 feet and weigh up to 1,700 pounds. Then an average female will measure to around 16 feet and can weigh around 2,450 pounds.
Great White Reported Sightings Of The Maximum Sizes
There have been many maximum size sightings and reports, yet a lot of these reports are up for debate. This is due to them all being roughly estimated, in various conditions and circumstances.
Expert, J.E. Randall has been able to reliably measure one of the largest Great White Sharks found.
This shark was 19.7 feet long, and measured in 1987 in Ledge Point, Australia.
Then in Canada, the Canadian Shark Research Center, confirmed that a female Great White Shark was caught in 1988 by David McKendrick just off the Prince Edward Island.
This female measured around 20 feet.
Back in Australian waters, the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has recognized that one of the largest Great White Sharks was caught by Alf Dean in 1959.
This shark is said to have weighed around 2,663 pounds. In addition to this, there are various unconfirmed reports of the largest sizes of the Great White Shark existing.
The Largest Great White Shark In The Guinness Book Of World Records
There are two Great White Sharks that are listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, as being the largest specimens.
In Port Fairy, near Australia, a 36 feet shark was caught in 1870. While the other shark was actually trapped in the Herring Weir, in New Brunswick in Canada, in 1930. The trapped shark was said to be around 37 feet long.
Then during the 1970s, excerpt J.E. Randall went and took a closer look at the skeleton jaws of the shark from Port Fairy.
He then confirmed that a mistake had been made with the measurements. In fact, the Port Fairy shark was a lot smaller and only around 16.4 feet long.
In addition to that, the shark that had been trapped in the Herring Weir in New Brunswick wasn’t a Great White Shark at all. It was a misidentified Basking Shark, which does have a very similar shape to a Great White.
Largest Great Sharks Unconfirmed Reports
There have been many reports of Great White Sharks that are said to be over 23 feet in length. J.E. Randall has looked over all this evidence, and confirmed that there is an unconfirmed sighting that could have been over 20 feet.
This female Great White shark was then given the nickname of Deep Blue, with an estimated length of 20 foot.
This unconfirmed report, was thanks to the filming of Shark Week in 2014. They were filming just off the Guadalupe, and Deep Blue was filmed.
She was then spotted again in 2019 eating a Sperm Whale carcass. However, this measurement is only a rough estimate.
There was also a Great White named Submarine that lived in False Bay during the 1980s. It was believed that this shark was over 23 feet, however, there were also rumors that this size was exaggerated.
Also, the shark managed to escape every time it was caught.
Conclusion
There have been lots of rumors of giant Great White Sharks. The struggle people have is proving and accurately measuring the size of these creatures.
As a result, the largest known Great White Shark is between 20 and 23 feet. Yet we are still in search of a Great White that we can say reliably beats this measurement.
If you’ve never dived with sharks before, then we urge you to try it. My name is Mikayla Adams and I have swum with sharks six times so far.
The beauty of sharks up close and personal is too precious to put into words - there’s nothing like it that I’ve ever experienced. Not only that, but to be in close proximity to one of the ocean’s most ferocious predators is such a thrill!
