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
Sin City's Deadly Vixen | Underworld, Inc.
One breed of hustler exploits this weakness to devastating effect. I’m about to go out and get me some money. I’m about to find some guy that wants to me, and I’m going to get him for all that he has. Vixen is a thief who POS uses as a prostitute. She get…
How do Cashews Grow?? - Smarter Every Day 44
Hey, it’s me Destin, welcome to Smarter Every Day. Have you ever just sat down and taken a really close look at nuts? I’ve been doing that for the last few minutes, and I’ve come up with some pretty interesting observations. I mean, cashews and peanuts ha…
Don’t Buy A Home In 2023 (Sellers Panicking)
Americans are leaving California and New York in droves. People are getting fed up and moving to Arizona, Nevada, Texas, or Florida. The main reason why is money. What’s up, Graham? It’s guys here. So for the first time ever, the housing market is being c…
You Don’t Deserve What You Want | Stoic Philosophy
In the ancient city of Rome, a man named Tiberius approached the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who was getting ready for his journey to Greece. “Master Epictetus,” he cried, “Before you leave, please listen to me. I’ve lost everything! A fire destroyed my …
Mosaic plots and segmented bar charts | Exploring two-variable data | AP Statistics | Khan Academy
Let’s say we’re looking at some type of disease, and we want to see if there’s any relationship between people having antibodies for that disease and whether they are adult children or infants. If you don’t know what antibodies are, these are things that…
The worst self improvement mistake
I feel like all of us at some point in our life have gotten into a bit of a rut, a period of our life where motivation is hard to come by. We’re not feeling as energetic and motivated as we usually are about life in general. And the goals that we’ve set f…