Shark Obsessed
By Maya Wei-Haas
Off the western coast of Mexico‘s Baja California, Guadalupe Island (map) is a shark mecca, drawing people from around the world hoping to catch a glimpse of one of these majestic creatures.
Divers recently exploring the area weren’t disappointed.
Biologist Mauricio Hoyos Padilla posted a Facebook video of what he claims is the biggest great white shark ever filmed: An approximately 20-foot (6-meter) long female dubbed Deep Blue.
According to the California Department of Fish and Game, great white sharks can grow up to 21 feet (6 meters) long.
However, most great whites are around 12 to 14 feet (3.6 to 4 meters) long, says Christopher Lowe, a shark biologist at California State University in Long Beach. A 17.9-foot-long (5.5-meter-long) male great white was caught off Guadalupe in fall 2009. (Related: “Biggest Great White Shark Caught, Released.”)
Deep Blue is “clearly a very large shark,” he says.
There may be another reason for that: Instead of the slim, torpedo shape of most white sharks, “she’s pretty rotund,” adds Lowe. “Just by the looks of her, I’d say that she’s pregnant.”
No comments:
Post a Comment