Filmmaker Captures Incredibly Rare Footage of a Baby Great White Shark
Great white sharks are such fascinating creatures. These apex predators are important for maintaining the health and balance of our oceans by consuming prey species like sea lions and seals, they eat the weak and the sick so they maintain the genetic health of sea creatures and some scientists believe they may even hold the keys to curing diseases like cancer.
As many times of those of us have watched Shark Week or scientists have spent filming these majestic animals, no one has ever seen a great white shark baby being born. No one has ever documented great white sharks mating. But we now may have footage of a great white shark newborn.
National Geographic reports that "On July 9, 2023, filmmaker Carlos Gauna and organismal biologist Phillip Sternes were following sharks with a drone off the coast of Santa Barbara. They’d already captured footage of a few larger great whites, but then something completely unexpected drifted up out of the murk. At just under five feet long with chubby, rounded fins, the duo knew they were looking at a very young great white. (For comparison, adult great whites can stretch up to 21 feet long.) But as the drone zoomed in, it caught something never seen before—a milky white film that appeared to flake off the young shark’s tail as it swam."
Watch this incredible video to see what filmmaker Gauna and biologist Sternes believe to be a newborn shark covered in what might be uterine fluid.
Greg Skomal, a shark biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, explained to National Geographic that the area where it was spotted has been thought to be a great white nursery, as first-year sharks have been documented there before. And Skomal says the shark’s coloration, shape, size, as well as the appearance of the milky white fluid all suggest it’s extremely young.
Related: National Geographic Shares Unique Trick Sharks Use to Avoid Becoming a Meal
This sighting is so important because if it is a newborn Great White, learning more about where they start their lives and are born would be crucial information for scientists seeking to protect the future of the species.
Facts About Newborn Great White Sharks
Baby great white sharks, are known as pups, are already pretty large at birth. At birth, they typically measure around 4 to 5 feet in length. Which was about the size of the shark captured in the footage above.
After a great white shark gives birth, she no longer cares for her pup and they are left to fend for themselves. While still young, great white shark pups primarily feed on small fish and rays.
Baby great whites are solitary creatures, and they don't swim with other sharks. Larger great whites may eat them, and they are also at risk of being prey for orcas.
This video is just incredible, and I can't wait to see what biologists are able to learn from it in regard to these beautiful great whites and what this means for the hope of the species.
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