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
Protecting the Sun Bears of Borneo | National Geographic
People in many cultures still heat Sanders as sneak, and then thunder is believed to have certain body parts that are believed to have medicine and values. For example, gallbladder Sanders play very important roles in the forest ecosystems. They play a ro…
Khan Academy Ed Talks with Olav Schewe - Tuesday, June 1
Hello! Welcome to Ed Talks with Khan Academy. We are excited to have you here as we talk to people who are influential in the education space. Today, we’re talking to Olive Chewie, who has a book coming out that we’re looking forward to talking to about l…
How to Be a Great Founder with Reid Hoffman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 13)
So when I looked through the syllabus to this class and thought about what I could possibly add that would be useful in addition to the very skills, one of the things I’ve been thinking about has been how do you think about yourself as a founder? How do y…
What It's Like to Be a Drone Pilot | The Story of Us
MORGAN FREEMAN: I was a little kid during World War II. And following the end of the war, of course, glory and bravery and patriotism instilled in me. And where do I go? Air Force. How’d you feel going in? So when I joined the military, I really did it to…
Reading (and comparing) multiple books | Reading | Khan Academy
Hello readers! You know what’s better than reading a book? Reading two books! Reading a bunch of books! Reading a mountain of books! This may sound self-evident, but great readers read a lot of books. Good readers read widely. They read lots of different …
Illusions of Time
Hey, Vsauce. Michael here. When something becomes part of the past, can it ever truly be experienced again? Obviously, my beard will grow back, but it won’t be the same beard, and it won’t be on the same person. It will be on a slightly older, different M…