Can great white sharks live in freshwater?

Most sharks are not physiologically capable of living in freshwater, although the bull shark is an exception. In order to live in freshwater, the body of water would need to be wide and deep enough to accommodate the shark, and it would have to be connected to the ocean for the shark to get there in the first place. read more

Like people who become accustomed to life in low oxygen regions, however, sharks in fresh water appear to adapt to what would seem to be formidable conditions. Sharks Adapted for Fresh Water Although a survey of freshwater sharks and rays in 1995 determined that 43 species of elasmobranches penetrate freshwater environments, relatively few sharks spend substantial time in these areas. read more

The shark often linked to these attacks is the Great White Shark (though some scholars debate that it was a bull shark, simply because they have been known to live in freshwater). There have been small great white sharks that have been caught in rivers in the past years, so it is possible, it's just not as often seen as a bull shark in fresh water. read more

Sharks need salt inside their bodies; without it, their cells can expand and possibly rupture, leading to bloating and death. If most sharks, including great whites, enter freshwater, their internal salt levels become diluted. Bull sharks have special physiological features that enable them to live in freshwater. read more