The ecology and behavior of the Great white Shark is little known and, despite a wide distribution, they rarely encountered. The endangered White Shark’s body is covered from head to tail with placoid scales or dermal denticles that resemble a collection of miniscule scales or ‘teeth’. By virtue of their strength and design, these scales afford the shark two important advantages. First, they act as armor, protecting the fish from major injuries; and secondly, they minimize the friction the shark encounters when swimming in sea water.

White sharks are opportunistic and eat marine mammals (including whales), fish (including other sharks), birds and invertebrates. Dolphins, seals (including sea lions and fur seals), sea turtles and penguins are other white shark favorites. They have earned the reputation of being a fierce predator that will attack people, though the attacks on humans are extremely rare. Most of the times, the attacks by other sharks also is mistakenly attributed to the great white sharks. Films like Jaws propagate the image of great whites as mindless hunters prowling dark, coastal waters for hapless swimmers—an animal whipped to frenzy by the scent of human blood. Yet not only do most people survive their encounters, many suffer only moderate injuries. Swimmers dragged underwater by great whites are sometimes left with puncture marks, but the animals often don't inflict more severe wounds.

The most common myth is that great whites, with their poor vision, attack divers and surfers in wet suits, mistaking them for pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), their main prey. In this scenario, once the animal realizes its mistake, it releases the victim and swims away.

There are several threats to the existence of white sharks. The recreational and commercial fishing, hunting for thrill and self prestige, increasing sea transportation, pollution in sea water, and even building sea resorts at sea shores where white sharks live are a few of the potential threats.

Trading in white shark products is also an important reason for the threat imposed on this species. Parts like shark fins, teeth, jaws and meat are salted and frozen to be traded as food items. The cartilage of shark and its liver oil has high medicinal value, which again becomes the cause of illegal trade of its body parts. This has substantially increased over time.

Until recently great endangered white sharks were not protected by laws anywhere in the world. Hunters were allowed to kill as many as white sharks as they wanted and could. Each year people killed 100 million sharks of all species.

There are several conservation groups who are trying to protect great white sharks to save them from extinction. Conservation laws that forbid the killing of endangered white sharks may be the only way to keep them from truly becoming extinct. There are many organizations working on national and international levels together, to control the illegal hunting and killing of the white sharks. Some are listed below. More information on any of these conversation groups is available online.

The endangered white sharks should be listed on CITES Appendix I, until more is known about this species and how to manage it. Strict penalties must be enforced to discourage illegal white shark fishing and trading. All the courtiers across the globe need to come together on one platform to provide shelter to this giant treasure of the biological community.

The loss of white sharks would be a disaster to mankind. Of the many kinds of sharks alive today, it is the great white shark that most often captures our imagination. We need to be aware of the importance of protecting these animals.