21st century skills library 4 A Fierce Creature chapter 1 Early one August morning a surfer sat on his board with his legs dangling over the sides He was scanning the California horizon for the next set of waves Suddenly he noticed his board had stopped bobbing in the current He looked down To his horror he saw a great white shark biting his board Its head was almost 3 feet 0 9 m across The shark had surfaced so quietly the surfer had not heard or seen anything The surfer flung himself off the board The water was just up to his shoulders when he touched the ocean floor He was about to start racing
exploring our oceans 5 The great white shark is a huge predator in the ocean
21st century skills library 6 toward shore when he saw the shark release the board The shark sank like a submarine and disappeared back into the sea Judging by the tooth marks on the surfboard the shark might have been as large as 17 5 feet 5 3 m long The surfer was very lucky The great white shark could have easily bitten and killed him This shark has been considered one of the most dangerous to humans The great white shark has one of the largest ranges of any ocean animal These sharks are found in all cool temperate and tropical water throughout the oceans of the world They seem to prefer to live in areas where the water temperature is between 59 and 71 degrees Fahrenheit 15 22 ºC However they have been found in waters ranging from 39 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit 4 27 ºC The sharks can also migrate thousands of miles each year to reach warmer waters Great white sharks live anywhere from the surface of the ocean to about 6,150 feet 1,875 m deep They live along the coastlines of South Africa and Australia They
exploring our oceans 7 South America North America Africa Europe Australia Asia RANGE OF GREAT WHITE SHARK ARCTIC OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN range map Great white sharks are found in warm and cool oceans around the world
