Imagine you're floating in the middle of the Atlantic. It's quiet. Dead quiet. You’d think a two-ton predator like a Carcharodon carcharias—the legendary Great White—would at least grunt or growl when it’s hunting. After all, whales sing, dolphins click, and even tiny croaker fish make a racket that sounds like a drum circle. But if you’re waiting to hear a roar, you’re going to be waiting forever. So, do great white sharks make noise? Honestly, no. They don't. Not in the way we think of "noise," anyway.
They are biologically incapable of it.
Think about how you talk. You have vocal cords. You have lungs. You push air through a larynx to create vibrations. Sharks? They don't have any of that. No lungs, no vocal cords, no syrinx. They breathe through gills, extracting oxygen from the water as it flows over those feathery red tissues. Without a way to vibrate air or even move water through a specialized "voice box," the Great White is effectively a silent movie star in a world of surround-sound ocean life.
Why Do Great White Sharks Make Noise Rumors Persist?
It’s probably Hollywood’s fault. Think back to every shark movie you’ve ever seen. There’s usually a low, guttural growl or a huffing sound right before the big bite. It adds tension. It makes them scarier. But in reality, a Great White sneaking up on a seal is terrifying specifically because it’s silent. It’s a stealth mission.
Biologist R. Aidan Martin, who spent years documenting shark behavior at Seal Island, often noted that these animals rely on total "acoustic crypsis." If you’re a predator that depends on the element of surprise to launch a 2,000-pound body out of the water, shouting about it would be a terrible evolutionary strategy.
Wait, though.
If they can’t "speak," do they make any sound? Well, yeah, but it’s mechanical. If a Great White breaches—slamming its massive body back onto the surface after a predatory strike—it creates a thunderous slap. That’s not a vocalization; it’s just physics. Some divers have also reported hearing a "crunch" or a "grind" when a shark feeds. That’s the sound of serrated teeth sawing through bone and cartilage. It’s chilling, sure, but it’s not the shark "talking."
The Anatomy of Silence
To understand why they're so quiet, you have to look at their skeleton. Sharks are elasmobranchs. Their entire frame is made of cartilage, not bone. Cartilage is lighter and more flexible, but it doesn't provide the rigid structure needed to support complex vocal organs.
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Then there’s the skin.
Great Whites are covered in dermal denticles. These are basically tiny teeth-like scales. They don’t just protect the shark; they reduce drag and dampen the sound of water rushing over the body. They are built for silence. While a boat engine hums and a scuba diver bubbles, a Great White glides through the water like a ghost. It’s a specialized form of hydrodynamic engineering that makes them nearly impossible to hear coming.
How They "Talk" Without Using a Voice
Just because they don’t make noise doesn’t mean they don’t communicate. They’re actually pretty social, in a "stay out of my way" kind of way. Since they can't scream at a rival to back off, they use body language.
I’ve seen footage where two Great Whites are eyeing the same whale carcass. They don't bark. Instead, they perform what researchers call "parallel swimming." They swim side-by-side to compare sizes. Usually, the smaller shark realizes it's outmatched and veers off. They also use "tail slapping." This involves swatting the surface of the water with their caudal fin. It creates a localized pressure wave and a splashing sound that tells other sharks, "I'm here, and I'm annoyed."
Sensing the Silent World
Interestingly, while they don't make noise, they are incredibly sensitive to it. Sharks have an "inner ear" that can detect low-frequency vibrations from miles away.
They also have the lateral line system.
This is a row of sensory pores running down their flanks. It lets them "feel" vibrations in the water. A struggling fish creates a specific frequency of vibration. To a Great White, that vibration is like a dinner bell. They don't need to hear a splash; they can feel the displacement of water molecules. It’s a sensory world we can’t even imagine.
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The Mystery of Shark Hearing and Low Frequencies
There’s been some fascinating research into what actually attracts these animals. Scientists like Arthur Myrberg conducted experiments back in the day, playing different sounds underwater to see how sharks reacted.
They found that sharks are most attracted to "irregular" pulsed sounds. Think of a wounded fish flapping or a person splashing clumsily. These sounds usually fall in the 10 Hz to 800 Hz range. Smooth, rhythmic sounds didn't interest them much. But the chaotic thumping of a distressed animal? That’s an invitation.
This brings up a weird irony: do great white sharks make noise? No. But do they live in a world defined by noise? Absolutely. They are the ultimate eavesdroppers of the ocean.
What About Other Shark Species?
Is the Great White an outlier? Not really. Almost all of the 500+ species of sharks are silent. There have been some anecdotal reports of "barking" in Draughtsboard sharks, but even that isn't true vocalization. It’s actually the shark swallowing air and then expelling it when it feels threatened. It’s more of a defensive "burp" than a communicative call.
Great Whites don't even do that. They don't have a swim bladder to fill with air. They rely on their massive, oil-filled livers for buoyancy. No air, no burps, no barks. Just muscle and teeth moving through the brine.
Why the "Silent Killer" Reputation is Factually Accurate
The silence of a Great White is its greatest weapon. If you’ve ever seen a "breach" at False Bay in South Africa, you know how it goes. The seal is swimming along, completely unaware. The shark is 30 feet below, tracking the silhouette. It accelerates vertically.
The first thing the seal—or any observer—knows about the attack is the physical impact. There is no warning growl. There is no hiss. There is just the sudden, violent displacement of water.
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This lack of sound is exactly why they’ve survived for millions of years. Evolution doesn't keep traits that don't work. If making noise helped Great Whites survive, they’d probably have developed a way to do it. But in the open ocean, silence is golden. It’s the difference between a meal and an empty stomach.
Does Technology Change the Answer?
In the last decade, we've put high-tech hydrophones everywhere. We’ve tagged Great Whites with "smart" tags that record depth, speed, and ambient sound.
Guess what we’ve found?
Still nothing. No secret shark language. No ultrasonic clicks like a bat. We’ve heard the sound of their heartbeats on sensitive equipment. We’ve heard the rush of water. But the sharks themselves remain mute. They are the ninjas of the pelagic zone.
Summary of the "Great White Sound" Myths
- The Growl: Pure fiction. Used by filmmakers to personify the shark as a "villain."
- The Hiss: Usually just the sound of water rushing over the skin or air escaping a diver's regulator in the background of a video.
- The Splash: Real, but mechanical. It’s the sound of a 4,000-pound object hitting water.
- The Crunch: Real. The sound of predation, not communication.
If you’re ever diving and you hear something that sounds like a roar, don’t look for a shark. Look for a boat, a whale, or maybe just a very loud diver. The Great White will be the one you don't hear.
Actionable Insights for Ocean Lovers
If you find yourself in the water or planning a cage diving trip, keep these facts in mind to better understand what you're seeing:
- Watch the Fins: Since they don't use sound, watch the pectoral fins. If they are dropped low and the shark is swimming in an exaggerated "S" pattern, it's feeling agitated. This is their version of a "shout."
- Listen for the Environment: If you hear a sudden silence—where the small fish and snapping shrimp suddenly go quiet—pay attention. Often, the presence of a top predator like a Great White causes other vocalizing animals to shut up and hide.
- Ignore the Hype: When watching documentaries, try to distinguish between the "foley" sound effects added in post-production and the actual natural sounds of the ocean. If the shark sounds like a lion, it's fake.
- Respect the Stealth: Understanding that these animals are silent hunters should increase your respect for their place in the ecosystem. They aren't mindless monsters; they are highly tuned, quiet biological machines.
The ocean is a noisy place, filled with the clicks of shrimp and the songs of giants. In that crowded acoustic landscape, the Great White Shark is the silent observer, proving that sometimes, you don't need to make a sound to be the most dominant presence in the room. Or the water.
Next Steps for Further Research
To see this silence in action, look for high-frame-rate footage of Great White breaches from the Neptune Islands or South Africa. Observe how the water moves around the animal before it breaks the surface; you'll see the sheer power that requires no vocalization to execute. For a deeper look at shark senses, research the "Ampullae of Lorenzini," which is how they "see" the electrical fields of their prey in total silence.