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
Axe Ghost devlog - The bug that ruined the run
My name is Thomas K. I’m working on a game called Axe Ghost. It’s currently in development. There’s a demo on Steam, and my good friend Rishad Buser, he plays the beta version of Axe Ghost, and when he’s able, he streams his daily runs. Richard, by the wa…
How Dangerous is a Penny Dropped From a Skyscraper?
[Derek] What would happen if you dropped a penny off the Empire State Building? Could it kill someone walking on the sidewalk below? What does it take to create a deadly projectile? Well, I’m gonna put this to the test with original MythBuster Adam Savage…
Nihilism: Embracing the Void of Existence
As far as we can observe, being ‘alive’ means that, for a limited amount of time, we’re beings in a mysterious universe, doing whatever we do, seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, until we die. Animals and plants seem perfectly content with this …
I'm going on live because I'm bored
Okay so now I should be able to go live though. Okay so now, okay you should be able to hear my voice. Okay, why is this thing happening? Okay, can you guys hear my voice? Okay, okay that’s awesome! So hi! Actually, there is no reason for me to do a YouTu…
How To Influence Decision Makers
I’m proud to announce the YC 2024 fall batch applications are due by August 27th. We’re doing this because of overwhelming demand from Founders to start doing the batch immediately instead of waiting for winter ‘25. Our applications are now open. The batc…
Justification using second derivative: inflection point | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
The twice differentiable function g and its second derivative g prime prime are graphed, and you can see it right over here. I’m actually working off of the article on Khan Academy called Justifying Using Second Derivatives. So we see our function g, and…