Great white sharks are often depicted as fearsome predators, and a common question is whether these animals make sounds. Great white sharks are, for the most part, silent. They do not possess the biological structures necessary to produce vocalizations like growls, barks, or clicks. Their reputation as silent hunters is rooted in their specific anatomy, which is finely tuned for life as an apex predator, not for auditory communication.
The Biological Reason for Silence
The primary reason great white sharks are silent is that they lack vocal cords. In mammals, vocal cords are folds of tissue in the throat that vibrate as air passes over them, creating sound. Sharks, like all fish, do not have this structure or a larynx designed for sound production.
A shark’s gills are specialized organs designed exclusively for extracting dissolved oxygen from the water. Water enters through the shark’s mouth, flows over the gill filaments where gas exchange occurs, and then exits through the gill slits. This entire process is geared towards respiration and involves no mechanism for creating intentional sound.
Sounds Made by Movement and Hunting
While great white sharks do not vocalize, their interactions with the environment are not completely silent. The sounds they produce are incidental byproducts of their powerful movements and hunting activities, not forms of intentional communication. One of the most dramatic sounds a great white can make is the explosive splash when it breaches the surface.
This behavior, where the shark launches itself out of the water, creates a significant acoustic disturbance. Similarly, the rapid movement of its large caudal fin (tail) through the water generates hydrodynamic noise. During a hunt, the force of a great white’s bite can be heard as it makes contact with its prey.
How Great Whites Communicate Without Sound
In the absence of vocal communication, great white sharks rely on a system of non-vocal cues to interact with one another. Body language is a primary method of conveying information. Postures and movements can signal dominance, agitation, or submission, which helps to establish social hierarchies and avoid conflict. For instance, a shark might arch its back, lower its pectoral fins, and swim in an exaggerated, jerky manner to warn off a competitor.
Another form of non-vocal signaling is mouth-gaping, where a shark opens its jaws wide towards another. This display is interpreted as a threat or a challenge. Researchers also believe that great whites may use chemical signals, known as pheromones, to communicate, particularly during mating. These substances, released into the water, could convey information about an individual’s readiness to reproduce.