Shark left with large scar on skin following ‘mating season’
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In 2019, Jalil Najafov, a photographer, filmmaker and shark conservationist, spotted the shark swimming near his boat while exploring the coastal waters of Mexico with his friends. Upon closer look, they were shocked to see the giant bite mark.
Speaking to CNN travel, Mr Najafov said: ”I was really surprised since I never saw something like this in my life.”
The filmmaker dived into the ocean below with his GoPro7 waterproof camera to capture a clear shot of the great white shark with the bite.
Unfortunately, since then, Mr Najafov misplaced the memory card that stored the images of the shark, which is why he was only able to share them nearly two years later.
The conservationist was excited about the image, saying: “I have been working with sharks and shark content for many years – I have a lot of experience in this niche.
“I know for sure when I see something rare, I have never seen such a huge shark scar.”
After sharing the image on Instagram, the mysterious bite led to a lot of commenters speculating it could have come from a Megalodon, an ancient, enormous shark species that lived millions of years ago.
The Megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful predators to have ever lived, and some scientists believe that it would have looked similar to a great white shark.
The most common fossils that archaeologists have founder are that of the prehistoric creature’s teeth, which are larger than any shark’s teeth that they have ever seen.
This implies that the Megalodon is much larger than any shark today.
To understand the origins of the bite, Mr Najafov reached out to Dr Tristan Guttridge for his opinion.
Dr Guttridge, who heads the marine nonprofit Saving the Blue, said: ”I’d rule out mating probably due to position as the wound looks like it’s healed a fair bit and, although mating scars can be nasty, they are more superficial than that.
“The shape of it to me likely indicates a bite from another shark – seems a bit extreme for defence but it’s a large shark itself so predation from another shark”
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Another researcher, Michael Domeier weighed in, saying: “I’m confident this is competitive aggression.
“I keep hearing people (colleagues) describe this sort of thing as territorial aggression, but these highly migratory sharks don’t have a traditional territory.
“But they do not tolerate conspecifics except for the rare instances where there seems to be some social bond between certain individuals (documented in South Australia).
“That scar will heal to the point it won’t be a good distinguishing mark.”
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