By Courtney Cooper
The World’s Strongest Sharks
Sharks are the most feared creatures of the ocean. They are the top predators that have been on earth for over 400 million years, constantly adapting and evolving to become the apex predators of the sea. Each shark species comes in different shapes and sizes, each with their special talents. Their ferocious teeth and jaws are their best assets, and we can measure their strength by their bite force. The bite force is the pressure an animal exerts when it bites down, and the SI unit for bite force is the Newton, or kilogram-meters per second squared. So, which of these sharks are the strongest in the world? For another interesting read, visit our shark facts rundown. Apex Shark Expeditions provides the best cage shark diving Gansbaai
The Top 3 Strongest Sharks
Hammerhead Shark
Known for their flat, “hammerhead” shaped heads, they belong to the family Sphyrnidae family which consists of 9 species including the Smooth Hammerhead, Smalleye Hammerhead, Bonnethead, Scoophead, Scalloped Hammerhead, Scalloped Bonnethead, Winghead Shark, Carolina Hammerhead and the largest being the Great Hammerhead. The Great Hammerhead measures between 12 and 18 feet long, (with females reaching a maximum of 20 feet), and can weigh as much as 230kg’s. They prey on various fish, crustaceans, squid and their favourite meal, stingrays. Their bite force can be measured at 539 psi.
Bull Shark
The bull sharks is mostly known for their incredibly ability to survive in both salt water and fresh water for prolonged periods of time. They have even known to survive in golf course ponds! Their length varies from 11 to 13 feet long, and they can weigh around 95kg’s in the males and 130kg’s in the females. They’ll eat almost anything, and have been seen hunting dolphins, turtles, and other smaller sharks. It’s no wonder why this shark is known as one of the most dangerous in the world! Their bite force is 1, 350 psi, making them one of the strongest!
Great White Shark
The Great White are popular for their breaching and hunting of seals and are the largest predatory shark on Earth. The largest recorded great white measured 19.1 feet long and weighed around 2,000 kg’s. The average females are between 15 to 16 feet long and the average male ranges from 11 to 13 feet long.
Size can play a big factor in the bite force of a shark, however, there are smaller sharks known to achieve a high bite force like a Great White. The Great White is just the largest shark and therefore has the strongest bite force measured at around 4,000 psi.
Some of the other strongest sharks in the world are the Tiger Shark and Oceanic Whitetip. The average bite force of a human is between 120-160 psi, compared to the strongest shark’s bite force of the Great White at 4000 psi, there’s really no comparison at all!
If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in our other article, where we discuss the truth about Megalodon.
