Divers in Hawaii experienced the shock of a lifetime while they were out monitoring a rotting whale carcass off the shore of Oahu – they found themselves in a face-to-face encounter with out of the largest great white shark ever seen.
After spotting the massive shark, state officials warned divers and snorkelers to stay out of the water.
The divers were initially monitoring the sperm whale carcass for research purposes and also to prevent people from violating the carcass. There had been previous reports of people climbing onto its body to steal its teeth for souvenirs.
While monitoring the sperm whale carcass, the divers were used to seeing tiger sharks come in for a quick meal but soon, all of the tiger sharks began to scatter and leave the area.
Within moments of the tiger sharks leaving, a gigantic, and possibly pregnant, great white shark showed up to get in on the feast.
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“She was just this big beautiful gentle giant wanting to use our boat as a scratching post,” said Ocean Ramsey, a diver, who posted images of the encounter. “We went out at sunrise, and she stayed with us pretty much throughout the day,” – she told The Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Video footage of the giant creature feeding is below, but keep reading to check out the awesome photos the divers captured.
Ramsey has studied sharks for quite some time. She advocates for shark conservation and even leads cage-free shark encounters. Ramsey and her team identify and observe sharks then share their findings and data with state and federal partners.
Great white sharks are rarely seen in Hawaii because the water is too warm – but this 20-foot-long and 8-foot-wide giant seemed to have found her way.
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Normally, great white sharks can be found off the colder California Pacific Coast, where they feed on elephant seals and sea lions. The divers assume that this massive shark made her way to Hawaii because of hunger and to get an extra dose of nutrients during her pregnancy.
On Wednesday, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources put out a statement that the sperm whale carcass was drifting around 8 miles south of Pearl Harbor after having already been towed 15 miles offshore a few days earlier.
Given the fact that tiger sharks have been continuously feeding on this carcass, and now the sighting of the great white, Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement Chief Jason Redull said people should stay out of the water at the moment.
“We don’t want anyone to get hurt if a shark swimming around the carcass mistakes them as food. Understandably, some people want to get into the water either out of fascination or to get photographs, but it is truly dangerous to be around this carcass with so much shark activity,” he said.
Is this great white shark possibly the famed ‘Deep Blue’?
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Ocean Ramsey and the other divers believe that this pregnant female could quite possibly be Deep Blue – which is the largest great white shark that has ever been recorded. Most female great whites are between 15-16 feet long, however, this particular shark beats those numbers by 20-25%.
Ramsey previously swam with Deep Blue while she was researching off of the coast of Mexico and certain that it is her because of the markings she has on her body. Not to mention her rare and unbelievable size.
“Big pregnant females are actually the safest ones to be with — the biggest, oldest ones — because they’ve seen it all, including us,” Ramsey said. “That’s why I kind of call her, like, a grandma shark.”
The divers and researchers now not only have the mission of monitoring the sperm whale carcass and the activity around it but also this majestic and mysterious great white shark.
Watch a bit of footage of the giant shark gorging herself on the floating whale carcass below. It’s clear that she’s only there for the food and doesn’t seem to care one ounce about the humans around her.
Ramsey wants people to know that sharks only bite out of curiousity or if they mistake a human for their natural prey. However, they are still unpredictable wild animals and should be encountered without a professional.
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