'Sharks that live in deep, cold water could be much older - well over 100,' Naylor said.įollow us, Facebook & Google+. Technologies like satellite tracking are revealing more about great whites and their lifestyles, and scientists may yet discover that 50-something giants like Deep Blue are not so rare after all. Great whites are especially difficult to raise and study in captivity, and as with any big marine animal, observing their habits in the ocean depths is challenging and often dangerous, Naylor added. 'There's a lot we still don't know,' said Gavin Naylor, a biology professor at the College of Charleston.

Glimpses of exceptionally large great whites like Deep Blue can help to shed light on the many unknowns of these elusive creatures. 'The more big females like Deep Blue that we have in the population, the better off the white shark population will be,' Curtis told Live Science. And bigger sharks are more likely to produce big litters, making larger females important from a conservation standpoint. Deep Blue is approximately 20 feet long and weighs a whopping 2.5 tons Credit: Reuters. Deep Blue is biggest great white ever recorded, weighing in at a whopping 2.5 tons. The number of young a shark births can vary, but litters with as many as 10 pups have been documented, said Tobey Curtis of the National Marine Fisheries Service. JAW-DROPPING pictures show the world's biggest great white sharks from a 20ft beast named Deep Blue to a ferocious predator called Ironbound. Once females reach sexual maturity in their mid-30s, the sharks can continue to reproduce for the rest of their lives. And being '50 and pregnant' isn't a big deal for a shark. Padilla pointed to her unusual girth as a sign of pregnancy. Great whites inhabit most seas and oceans, and average body size can also vary depending on where the population is found.īut Deep Blue wasn't just longer than the average great white she was also very wide around the middle. Genetics certainly play a part some individuals are naturally predisposed to be larger, and great white females are typically bigger than males, Hammerschlag said.Įnvironment and food supply are also important plenty of nutritious meals would fuel steady growth, as could warmer waters. Skomal's study hints that there may be much older sharks than Deep Blue out there, and they could be even bigger.Īfter reaching maturity, white sharks' growth slows - but it doesn’t stop.Ī number of factors influence shark growth and could have contributed to Deep Blue's unusual size, said Neil Hammerschlag, research assistant professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School and Abess Center. Padilla estimated that Deep Blue was about 50 years old, based on her size. That study also showed that great whites could live to be at least 73. We understand that knowing Deep Blue and her babies are out there, freely roaming the ocean might freak you out a little bit, but you’re more likely to be killed by a dog and way more likely to be struck by lightning than to be killed by a shark, so try to reel it in.In fact, Gregory Skomal, a fisheries biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and his colleagues found great whites grow even more slowly than scientists had thought: The biologists' research, published in January in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research, suggested males take 26 years to reach sexual maturity, whereas females aren't ready to have babies until they're about 33 years old - much later than once thought. The diver in the frame shoos her away, flapping his hand dismissively and then gets the best high-five of his life.

Fortunately for these onlookers, she doesn’t assume the same merciless, “if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em” philosophy that this slightly less forgiving female shark did, and the divers proceed to marvel unscathed. Her nautical themed baby shower was about a year ago and sources close to the shark say items on the registry included unisex onesies that say, “My Mom’s the Greatest.”Ībout halfway through the video, Deep Blue can be seen curiously nipping at the corner of the divers’ cage. We can confirm she’s actually super pregnant. If you didn’t guess from watching the clip, Deep Blue isn’t just super fat.

And according to the video’s description, she’s at least 50 years old. In fact, she’s approximately 7 meters (over 20 feet) long. It shows a new angle of Deep Blue circling the cage of several entranced spectators.

The newly released footage was recorded by diving enthusiast Michael Maier. The video was captured in 2013 off the coast of Guadalupe Island, Mexico west of the Baja Peninsula. Last year, we introduced you to Deep Blue, “ the largest shark ever filmed.” Six months later, we’re here to bring you even more terrifyingly beautiful footage of divers’ encounter with the massive Great White Shark.

Deep blue shark footage