50-year-old Deep Blue is easily one of the most famous sharks out in the ocean right now. First, she was featured on the “Jaws Strikes Back” documentary during Shark Week in 2014, and now she is going viral after recently released footage of the massive pregnant shark was published on the Internet.
Deep Blue was originally discovered back in 2013 by shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla who saw her swimming near Guadalupe Island. The reason Padilla waited two years to publish his footage remains unknown.
The video is titled “Deep Blue (the biggest shark ever filmed) second part.” It offers a rare up close look at Deep Blue as she surrounds the researchers’ cages, with one researcher even coming out from behind bars to swim right next to the shark.
2-years after his close encounter with what could easily be the largest great white shark in the ocean, Padilla shared his footage with the world. “Deep Blue” has since received millions of views and endless media attention.
Not only is the video amazing due to the size of the shark and her close proximity to humans. Padilla also shares that it is a sign of hope for sharks. He writes on his SlideShare page, “A shark of that size is at least 50-years-old and that tells me protection and conservation efforts are really working. 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.”
Padilla says that it is common to see pregnant sharks close to shore because they give birth in shallow waters.
Deep Blue isn’t the only massive great white shark researchers have encountered. Padilla writes, “During November and December, we have seen several White Shark pregnant females like DEEP BLUE in Guadalupe Island feeding on seals, satisfying their needs to feed their pups.”
Padilla hopes that this video will prove sharks are not the monsters they are often made out to be. There’s a reason they are known to bite off limbs instead of eating entire humans, it’s because once they realize you’re human they are uninterested. The better we understand shark behavior the more we can do to work alongside them instead of against them, reaching a place where people don’t have to fear the big-toothed giants of the world’s oceans.
Watch the full video below:
Photo Credits: Mauricio Hoyos Padilla (h/t: ABC News)
