Well, folks, it looks like even sharks aren’t safe from becoming someone else’s lunch.
In a first-of-its-kind case, scientists have documented a porbeagle shark getting gobbled up by a much larger predator, likely a great white shark, off the coast of Bermuda. And this wasn’t just any porbeagle—it was a 7-foot-long, pregnant porbeagle, no less.
The ocean is a WILD place.
Researchers shocked after 8-foot shark is eaten by a predator. But who’s the culprit? https://t.co/F2lJV1qX81
— CJay954 (@cjayBroward) September 4, 2024
Here’s how they figured it out. Back in October 2020, researchers tagged the porbeagle off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, tracking its movements and gathering data on water temperatures and depths. Fast forward about five months, and the tag suddenly started recording some strange data.
The shark’s body temperature remained about 9 degrees warmer than the surrounding water, even though the tag was moving up and down, suggesting something had swallowed it whole. In other words, the porbeagle wasn’t just dead—it had been eaten.
Scientists quickly narrowed down the list of potential culprits. Two big sharks are known to prowl the waters near Bermuda: the shortfin mako and the great white shark. Given the tag’s depth data and the gut temperatures recorded, all signs point to the great white as the likely predator.
After all, great whites can grow to a whopping 21 feet—almost twice the size of a fully grown porbeagle, which maxes out at about 12 feet. So, this unfortunate porbeagle was outmatched in size and appetite.
Stunning video of a Great White Shark captured by Chris Fallows.pic.twitter.com/Z1xtDfzjQr
— Figen (@TheFigen_) July 13, 2023
This study gives us a rare peek into the brutal reality of ocean life, where even a sizable shark isn’t safe from becoming a meal. It’s not often scientists can track this kind of predator-prey interaction, especially when it involves two top-tier ocean predators. But now we’ve got confirmation—there’s always a bigger fish, and in this case, it’s likely the great white shark, king of the ocean food chain.
