GEEKERY: Largest Great White Ever Caught on Film
Warning: If large, predatory fish with razor sharp teeth freak you out … skip this post, and go buy a bigger boat.
New footage of a female great white – taken off Guadalupe Island in the Pacific by Mauricio Hoyos Padilla (of Shark Week fame) – was released Thursday. The shark, nicknamed Deep Blue, is a monster at nearly 20 feet long and an estimated 5,000-pounds; she’s believed to be the largest great white ever caught on film.
… and Padilla was insane enough to hang outside the cage while she cruised by and did something really scary with her mouth. It’s slightly terrifying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8KrHvUr6o
If you need more visual confirmation of how big she is… here’s an upright human comparison. Again – out side of the cage like a looney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0fp7Evc4QA
Sharks, and other apex predators, are a really important part of the ocean’s ecosystem, and their presence can be used as an indicator. No matter how much terror the sight of her may strike in some of our hearts (like mine), it’s great that she exists. It’s likely that a shark of her age has had over 200 pups over the years.
“When I saw Deep Blue for the first time, there was just one thought in my mind: Hope. Deep Blue has been spared from longlines and the inherent dangers of being in the wild, and somehow she has found her way in the vast ocean.” – Mauricio Hoyos Padilla
The greatest threat to sharks is us – through purposeful fishing for fins, unintentional bycatching, or habitat destruction. If you want to help continue the conservation efforts Padilla’s Pelagios Kakunjá foundation takes donations, as does Shark Savers.
I’m not about to go swimming with them any time soon, though. I’m not Mick Fanning. No way, no sir, no how.
Deep Blue: terrifying, beautiful, really honking huge… how would you describer her?
