People are flooding to social media in horrified admiration after watching a team of scientists’ ‘unthinkable’ underwater discovery.
If there was anything to put you off from ever plunging into the sea again – unless you’re a shark fanatic that is – then this is it.
In July 2019, OceanX – in partnership with the Moore Charitable Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative – took a ship and a group of scientists to the Bahamas.
The team explain in a Reddit post – uploaded to thread r/IAmA – “[We] strapped a three-person submersible with a hundred pounds of bait, took it 500 meters below the surface, and waited in the dark for a giant deep sea shark.”
But why on earth would they put themselves through all of that and what sort of shark did they prepare to meet lurking in the shadows?
Well, the team were hoping to encounter a bluntnose sixgill shark – ‘a predator older than the dinosaurs and bigger on average than the great white’ as well as ‘a dominant predator of the deep sea ecosystem,’ according to OceanX’s YouTube post.
Why? So, to ‘apply a satellite tag’ to the great beast, measure it and release it all in a bit to help better understand the animals, manage resources and protect them too – although, this shark definitely doesn’t look like it needs the latter.
The team certainly achieved their goal to get up close and personal with the shark, capturing the whole mission on camera too and it certainly makes for a spine-tingling watch.
OceanX’s video shows the moment the shark slinks up to the submarine – and its so ginormous it’s actual ‘wider than the sub’.
The bluntnose is identified as a female, a voice noting ‘very large female’ – and that’s putting it lightly.
The shark is ginormous and frankly, makes Jaws look like child’s play, it later going on to ‘push’ and ‘bump’ the submarine. *Gulps*
Another video from a different angle shows the shark even more up close and personal while interacting with the submarine.
In case you wanted more, OceanX also released an extended version too:
People are flooding to the comments to weigh in on the clip.
One YouTube user said: “Scientists, “Whoa.” That’s when you know it’s serious.”
Another added: “I got chills when the shark opened its eyes, never seen anything like that!”
A third wrote: “If not the size, this shark’s eye alone would have given me a straight heart attack.”
And a fourth resolved: “I am scared of deep ocean, but this does not stop me to think that sharks are absolutely magnificent sea creatures!
“They should be respected at all times!”
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
