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
How a Shark Attack Survivor Invented Cage Diving
A lot of people would say you have got reason more than most to hate sharks, and yet you don’t. Can you explain it? It was in a spear fishing championship that I was the reigning champion. It was a six-hour competition. After four hours, many fish had …
The Physics of Lightsabers | StarTalk
[Applause] Star Talk, we’re back featuring my interview with the British physicist Brian Cox. So I had to bring up the fact that he and I had, like, a Twitter argument over the physics of lightsabers. Aha, yeah! And I just had to bring it up and just ope…
Can Texas Secede from the Union?
Can Texas secede from the Union? America’s second most populated and second largest state is always first to remind you that it was once an independent nation: The Republic of Texas. Unlike California’s three-week, almost accidental flirt with independenc…
Multivariable chain rule
So I’ve written here three different functions. The first one is a multivariable function; it has a two variable input, (XY), and a single variable output, that’s (x^2 \cdot y). That’s just a number. And then the other two functions are each just regular …
Welcome to Earth | Official Trailer #2 | Disney+
(Adventurous music) - [Will] I’m throwing myself into the unknown. - I almost guarantee you’re going to survive. - Am I? (Will laughing) (Adventurous music continues) - [Will] There’s a new breed of explorers taking me to the ends of the earth to discover…
AVOID THESE 5 MONEY MISTAKES IN 5 MINUTES
What’s up, you guys? It’s Random here. So let’s be honest with ourselves. We all want to get better with our money, whether it’s making more money or growing our wealth. It’s all about the small improvements we make along the way. Unfortunately, most peop…