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
SLOW Motion Butterfly Puddling - Smarter Every Day 80
Face be Destin. Welcome back to Smarter Every Day! We’re back with Phil Torres, entomologist, and about two years ago I created the video about butterflies. That, about we’re eating a fish, the pits have taken down the fray. That’s not what was happening …
Millionaire Exposes The Jake Paul Financial Freedom Scam
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So let me start by asking you three very important questions. Number one, have you ever dreamed of being a millionaire? Number two, have you ever wanted to be financially free? And most importantly, number three, have…
WIN Videogames BY KISSING??!! And 10 More Awesome FLASH GAMES.
[Music] Yesterday, everyone was talking about a new game controlled by kissy. One person has a magnet stuck on their tongue, and the position and speed of their tongue controls the direction and speed of a bowling ball. But until and if that game hits sto…
Cara Delevingne Pulls Herself Across a Canyon | Running Wild With Bear Grylls
[music playing] OK, you’re good, Cara. You know the bit I said about gravity doing the first bit? Yeah. That’s wrong. You’re just going to have to muscle it out most of the way. Oh, no. Hopefully, I’ll get across before I get scared. That’s what I’m hop…
Inside the Epic World of Bertie Gregory | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
We’ve got something new this week! Our colleague and National Geographic Channel’s executive producer, Drew Jones, is going to take us behind the scenes of Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory. I’ll let him and Bertie take it from here. You ready? I’m Bets…
Seneca | Why Worry About What Isn't Real? (Stoicism)
In a letter to his dear friend Lucilius, Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote: “There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” End quote. Chronic worriers tend to be more …