In sharks, as in many other animals, it is possible to get an idea of the animal’s behavioural state by paying attention to changes in behaviour and displays of the body and appendages. Such information can potentially be life saving for divers or surfers who regularly come into contact with the big sharks. The biologist R. Aidan Martin from the University of British Columbia has described various agonistic displays by sharks in order to learn more about these warning signals.

Displays include hunching of the back, fin flexing and rapid approach followed by sharp turns used as threat signals. The great white shark, furthermore, breaches the surface and splashes with the tail as a sign of a high aggression level.

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