Sharks (animal)

A shark in pre-release screenshot of GTA V.

Shark found in gta3.img.

Sharks are animals that are believed to be in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. They are real-life sea creatures that people have claimed to have seen in the waters of Vice City and San Andreas. There is an ongoing debate to whether they actually exist in-game or not. Sharks will appear in Grand Theft Auto V.

Appearances

GTA Vice City

Sharks appear in the ocean waters of Vice City. Like all marine animals in the game, these sharks are simply non-solid objects floating in the water and do not interact with any characters, vehicles, or objects. Sharks spawn randomly under ocean water around the city; there are no preferred locations of spawning. They do not kill and cannot be killed. The official manual of Vice City specifically describes shark attacks but shark attacks do not happen in the game at all.

Shark attacks off Vice City happen a few times a year and there are more sharks out there than you would like to think - best advice: stay out of the water!

A giant shark prop can be seen at the InterGlobal Studios on Prawn Island.

GTA San Andreas

Much like GTA Vice City, many players of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have claimed to have seen sharks in the waters of San Andreas. Like above, most players say they are just mods, but others claim the sharks are just rare. Some people have stated that sharks actually attack Carl Johnson and kill him, but this is unlikely, most likely the sharks will swim away like all the other marine life is programmed to do. As in Vice City the sharks are said to be invulnerable to damage.

Players often mistake Dolphins for Sharks because they look very similar in game. The IMG tool for gta3.img on GTA San Andreas proves that sharks are in the game coding, as it states the shark.dff file is in game. The shark does not attack Carl and highly resembles a White Tip Shark. It is said that sharks are only found underneath the Gant Bridge although sharks probably do not spawn at all as the shark.dff is most likely missing the piece of code that allows the shark to spawn in-game.

GTA V

Sharks appear in GTA V as hostile animals, capable of attacking and killing the player. They spawn at random in all depths of the oceans around San Andreas, particularly in Blaine County, usually by themselves or in groups of two or three. When a shark is in the area, it appears as a red dot on the map, and will circle the player or their boat in curiosity. If the player is swimming, the shark will continue circling, gradually getting closer. Eventually the shark will attack, but only if the player is in front of it. Being killed by a shark unlocks the "Out Of Your Depth" achievement/trophy.

According to Abigail, a Stranger & Freaks character, sharks in GTA V are "San Andreas White Sharks", a fictional subspecies of Great White Shark. They are endangered, hence why they seldom appear in-game.