12. Great white
Look, some people adore the great white shark, probably the most familiar shark species on this list. But some species need to be knocked down a peg or two. Great whites are one of the ocean’s most fearsome predators—though not to orcas, which eat the great whites for breakfast. Perhaps the orcas are doing my work for me, but great white sharks are not all that compared to some of the oceans’ other sharks. Yes, they’re fearsome. Yes, their babies are pretty cute. But if we’re just ranking sharks based on their fear-factor we’re no better than those who have caused sharks such reputational damage over the years.
