Sharks can hear you swimming from 100 feet away. That's not necessarily a bad thing

['Staff Writer', 'Rosanna Xia Is An Environmental Reporter For The Los Angeles Times', 'Where She Specializes In Stories About The Coast', 'Ocean. She Directed', 'Produced The Award-Winning Feature Documentary Film'] News from California, across the nation and world - Los Angeles Times 2026-07-30 00:00:00

And great white sharks — at least the ones in a sharky hot spot like Southern California — have really, really good hearing. (Jake Miller)For years, Lowe and his lab have documented white sharks getting very close to people in the water. AdvertisementThe Shark Lab eliminated sight (limited horizontal visibility) and odor (disperses too quickly in water) as the reason a shark might react from so far away. CSULB Shark Lab researchers tag a juvenile great white shark off the California coast. The lab had received a $3.75-million state grant in 2018 to run the California Shark Beach Safety Program for five years.