Rare footage captures live great white birth, solving birthing mystery
In a groundbreaking discovery, wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna, known as The Malibu Artist, and UC Riverside biology doctoral student Phillip Sternes encountered a rare sight on July 9, 2023, near Santa Barbara on California's central coast. While scanning the waters for sharks, the drone captured the remarkable birth of a great white shark pup, a never-before-witnessed phenomenon.
Entirely white shark
This groundbreaking event and the subsequent findings have been documented in a paper in the Environmental Biology of Fishes journal on January 29. The shark pup, approximately 5 feet in length, exhibited a distinctive feature — it was entirely white. Sternes revealed that upon closer examination of the footage, they realized the white layer was actively shedding from the shark's body as it swam.
Shark birthing habit
This observation led Sternes to propose that what they witnessed was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer. Beyond the fascination of observing a live newborn white shark, the significance of this encounter extends to its potential to unravel the long-standing mystery surrounding great white shark's reproductive behaviour and birthing locations. Central California's coast is long proposed as a great white birthing site.
Holy grail in shark science
The mystery of white shark birthing grounds, considered a holy grail in shark science, has long persisted. Carlos Gauna, The Malibu Artist, highlighted the rarity of observing a live newborn shark as an unparalleled event in shark research. Traditional knowledge relied on finding dead pups in deceased pregnant mothers, making Gauna and Sternes' live observation a groundbreaking contribution to marine biology.
Skepticism
While the authors of the paper acknowledge the possibility that the white film shed by the shark could be attributed to a skin condition, they express skepticism about this explanation. Gauna, in particular, highlights the monumental nature of their discovery, asserting that even if it were a skin condition, such an occurrence has never been reported for great white sharks.
Strongly contend
Gauna and Sternes strongly contend that their observation captured a newborn great white shark. Their belief is grounded in the fact that during gestation embryonic sharks feed on unfertilized eggs for protein. The additional nourishment provided by mothers through a distinctive "milk" secretion aligns with their findings. Sternes expressed that what they observed was the shedding of intrauterine milk by the baby shark.
Shape and size
While acknowledging the possibility of the white film being a skin condition, the authors contend that the overall evidence such as the shark's size, shape, and the presence of likely pregnant great whites strongly supports their conclusion of encountering a live newborn. Also, the proximity of the filmed pup close to the shore hint at the significance of shallow waters in their reproductive process.
