5-Foot Newborn Great White Shark Captured Swimming on California Coast

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Elias Levy)
5-Foot Newborn Great White Shark Captured Swimming on California Coast

A newborn great white shark was spotted swimming off the coast of California. The newborn was still shedding its embryonic layer during the sighting.

Newborn Great White Shark Spotted

Researchers at the University of California - Riverside took the incredible picture of a baby great white shark. When the five-foot shark was discovered by experts a mere 1,000 feet off the Santa Barbara coastline, it was thought to be only a few hours old.

Due to scientists' inability to locate great white shark birthing grounds, these locations have long been unknown. However, on July 9, 2023, two filmmakers searching the region for sharks were fortunate to find a great white shark.

"Where white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science," said Wildlife filmmaker Carols Gauna, who took the photos alongside UC Riverside PhD student Phillip Sternes.

Nobody has ever seen a newborn baby shark alive, nor has anyone been able to determine where they are born. Dead white sharks have been discovered inside of pregnant women who have passed away. Not like this, though.

Although the Santa Barbara coast is considered a potential place for great white shark births, this is the first time that any proof of pregnancy has been found despite Gauna's years of observation and filming of the shore.

The two directors agreed that a skin ailment might have caused the shark's shedding, but they don't think that's the case because this kind of shark hasn't been known to experience it before.

"If that is what we saw, then that too is monumental because no such condition has ever been reported for these sharks," Gauna added.

In the days before he filmed the newborn pup, Gauna claimed to have seen three pregnant great white sharks nearby.

Action may be required to maintain and safeguard the species designated as endangered globally in 2006 if the location is, in fact, a breeding site. Although great white sharks are found all over the world, fishing and poaching pose a threat to the species.

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Technology To Track Pregnant Shark

Defenders of Wildlife, a national non-profit organization that is committed to safeguarding threatened species, claims that 73 million sharks are killed each year and that 75% of shark species are already in danger of going extinct. Shark pregnancies' natural environments have also been impacted. Scientists have developed a tracking system for pregnant sharks to help ensure that they give birth in a secure environment.

According to Neil Hammerschlag and James Sulikowski, the study's author and an Arizona State University professor, a suitable habitat is crucial. If not, young sharks won't mature.

If they don't continue to develop, eventually, there won't be any sharks left, which will cause the ocean ecosystem to collapse.

By prioritizing preserving pupping and nursery grounds, they have created a novel, satellite-based technology that will aid in protecting threatened and endangered shark species.

To track the time of birth, the researchers implanted intrauterine satellite tags on two migratory shark species, a tiger shark and a hammerhead. Birth-alert-tags, or BAT, are the name of the new technology.

The egg-shaped BAT is placed inside a pregnant shark, measuring 2 inches in length and 1 inch in width. The BAT emerges with the young sharks and reaches the ocean's surface when the shark gives birth.

When freed, the gadget will go into transmitter mode and send signals announcing the birth's location and time.