yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Great White Sharks of Guadalupe Island | Most Wanted Sharks


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

NARRATOR: But everyone loves Lucy. The story of this great white is the classic "Finding Nemo" tale, but about 2,000 pounds heavier. When divers spotted Lucy back in 2008, her distinctive tail wound looked fresh. And she seemed in desperate need of a good meal. A damaged caudal often puts a shark's life in danger. It's crucial for propelling a shark through water.

APRYL BOYLE: Lucy's tail deformity could be from fighting with another shark when she was younger.

NARRATOR: And Lucy's not only survived, she's thrived. She did it by modifying the way she swims to sway a little more than the average great white. And now Lucy's adoring public keeps an eye out for her signature floppy fin and her unique swagger. Unlike other female great whites, Lucy returns to Guadalupe Island every year. And that is because she has not given birth yet. If she did, she'd be gone at least 12 to 18 months, because that's how long a shark pregnancy lasts.

NARRATOR: Fans don't know for sure why Lucy is still not a mom. It could be that male sharks are turned off by her misshapen fin. Or maybe Lucy hasn't yet met Zapata, the most famous and recognizable male great white of Guadalupe Island. This tough guy is a 14-footer, who has mixed it up with other apex predators and has the battle scars to prove it.

RALPH COLLIER: Zapata is a very large shark. To sustain the wounds it received, the attacking shark must have been very large, possibly 18 or 20 feet in length.

NARRATOR: He might not play well with other sharks. But luckily, unlike Bullet, Zapata actually enjoys hanging out with people. That's my favorite shark right there, Zapata.

NARRATOR: Scarboard, at an intimidating 18 feet long, isn't just one of the most massive sharks at Guadalupe Island, she's one of the biggest great whites in the world. But like all sharks, no one will know for sure how old she is until after she dies.

RALPH COLLIER: One of the ways to determine the age of a shark is by dissecting it. If we cut through a vertebra, we can see rings similar to those of a tree showing annual growth. She got her nautically themed name because of scars on the right, or starboard, side of her body.

APRYL BOYLE: When sharks engage in head-to-head combat, they can do incredible damage to each other, which is what happened to Scarboard. But sharks have amazing healing abilities.

NARRATOR: Scarboard shows up at Guadalupe every other year. And the next time you see her, many of her scars might be gone. Bullet, Lucy, Zapata, and Scarboard, four sharks whose physical flaws grabbed our attention and helped make them famous.

More Articles

View All
Why You Didn't Die at Birth - Smarter Every Day 42
Hey, it’s me Destin. Welcome to Smarter Every Day. So, today’s episode’s a little bit different. I have a question about breathing. It’s pretty simple. See, our bags are packed and we’re about to go to the hospital to have our third child, and my question…
Safari Live - Day 272 | National Geographic
This program features live coverage of an African safari and may include animal kills and carcasses. Viewer discretion is advised. Good afternoon everybody and welcome to a stormy, blustery, windy Masai Mara. We’ve had a massive storm that has just blown…
Black Women and the Suffrage Movement | 100 Years After Women's Suffrage
Good afternoon! I’m Deborah Adam Simmons, Executive Editor for History and Culture at National Geographic. I am thrilled that we will have a conversation this afternoon with historian Martha Jones and writer Michelle Duster about the role of African-Ameri…
How To Invest In 2024 (The BEST Way To Get Rich)
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So, CNBC recently found that 63% of Americans would be unable to pay for a $500 emergency. When I first read this, my initial thought was that this is unacceptable and it has to change. After all, the unfortunate rea…
How to Navigate the Different Life Phases
But also you say, for example, the second phase, the part that I’ve been in tends to be one of the unhappier times of life. You think about how much you’re worrying about your kids and whether they’ll be okay, and all the struggles balancing work and fami…
Lattice energy | Molecular and ionic compound structure and properties | AP Chemistry | Khan Academy
You may already be familiar with Coulomb’s law, which is really the most important or underlying law behind all of what we know about electrostatics and how things with charge attract or repulse each other. But a simplified version of Coulomb’s law is ju…