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Great White Shark's Diet

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Always on the lookout for a meal, great white sharks will take a bite out of just about anything in their environment they perceives as a potential meal. The first bite assesses the energy value of the prey, evidenced by a measure -- taste -- of amount of body fat. The shark will launch an all-out attack on an energy-rich food source, often swallowing it whole after it bleeds to death. Seals are one of the shark's favorite foods, but they're not the only item on the great white shark menu.

Seafood Delights

Marine mammals and fish make up most of the great white shark's diet. In addition to dining on seal family members including sea lions and elephant seals, the great white preys on dolphins, sea turtles, rays and other sharks.

Unusual Foods

In the movie "Jaws," a great white's stomach contents yielded tin cans and a Louisiana license plate. You're unlikely to find inedible items in a shark's stomach. If a shark should inadvertently swallow something inedible during a tasting bite, the shark can evert his stomach, basically turning it inside out to eject the offending object. When the preferred diet is not available, great whites will raid fishing nets or consume the occasional otter or seabird.