Another theory is that they bite once and let go, waiting for the prey to bleed to death and thus allowing some to escape. They may be able to afford this loss since there is often a lot of potential food and they can wait at least a month between large meals. In addition to eating pinnipeds, white sharks have been reported to eat dolphins, rays, turtles, sea birds, many varieties of fishes and even abalone and crabs. Off the Pacific coast of the Americas, great whites have been taken from the Gulf of Alaska to the Gulf of California and from Panama to Chile. There is little known about how or where great whites mate.
Pups hatch inside the mother and are over four feet long when they emerge.
Scientists believe that males mature at about eight feet in length, and both sexes may live 40 years or more. Only about 8 great whites were kept in aquariums for more than one day. The current record, set by Sea World of California, is 21 days. Most animals died, but a few were successfully released. Problems associated with electromagetic fields and small confinement for these constantly-swimming sharks contribute to the difficulty.