Getting Closer... T e great white shark is swimming in the direction of a small, rocky island. Seal Island is about 500 meters away. It’s named aſt er the large cape fur seal population that lives there. T e smell of seal blood is now getting


stronger. One of them must be injured. T e great white can hear seals in the


water, too. T ere’s also another way this shark knows the seals are there. He can feel them. Great whites have a strong sense of touch through their lateral line. T e lateral line is a system of tubes just


beneath his skin. Two lines run the length of his body on both sides. T e tubes are fi lled with hairlike nerve endings that pick up vibrations caused by movement or by sound. T ey help the shark detect prey from as far 250 meters away.


...And Closer T e great white speeds up. Now he is close enough to see the seals. His eyes are sensitive. His lenses are up to seven times more powerful than a human’s. His eyes are divided into two areas. One


is adapted for day vision. T e other is for low light and night. On this cloudless day, he can easily spot a colony of seals in the water. One seal has a tiny cut on one of its fl ippers. T is shark has found what he was


looking for. Most great whites crave fatty blubber. A large seal could be as much as 50 percent fat. T is makes a good meal. T e great white can see the seals, but


they can’t see him. From above, his dark back is almost invisible against the dark ocean bottom. From below, his white belly is hard to see against the light sky.


This great white bursts through the surface of the water as he tries to catch his prey.


6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24