Scientists have been tracking a great white shark not far from New York City, but it’s not just scientists who are interested in it, there are other sites related to wild hunting. Great white sharks, despite being considered fearsome “killers” with their strength and sharp teeth, are not invulnerable. In 2003, Australian scientists attached a tracker to a 9-ton white shark, only to discover that it had mysteriously disappeared, leaving only the tracker behind.
This was part of a research project that explorer Todd Btis was involved in, with the mission to study great white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. The important question is: what could be strong enough to take down this fearsome creature? A giant squid, a killer whale, or an even scarier ancient creature?
In 2003, filmmakers Dave and Jenning Riggs were filming a documentary on a beach in Australia when they made an unusual discovery: nine giant sperm whales had washed up dead. While investigating, they noticed many great white sharks swimming around the whales, and decided to work with scientists to attach tracking devices to study the sharks’ migrations.
The first shark they tagged was a 9-ton female great white, dubbed “Shark Alpha.” After four months, Alpha’s tracking device washed up on shore, with no trace of the sharks. When the scientists examined the data, they noticed a strange change: Alpha suddenly dived to a depth of 1,900 feet, accompanied by a significant increase in the temperature around the device from 46°F to 76°F.
Scientists’ initial conclusion was that Alpha had been swallowed by a larger predator, one that was faster and more powerful. However, determining which species was behind the attack was not easy. Killer whales were the likely suspects, as they are the great white’s natural predators. However, they usually hunt at the surface, while Alpha was pulled to a greater depth than the killer whales could hunt.
The next hypothesis was the giant squid. Giant squid live at depths near where Alpha was killed and may have been strong enough to drag the shark to the bottom of the sea. However, the sudden increase in temperature was difficult to explain, as giant squid are cold-blooded and cannot produce such a change in temperature.
With all the hypotheses proving unsatisfactory, researchers began to think about the possibility of an unknown creature, possibly the Megalodon – an extinct giant shark. However, while this hypothesis remains controversial, what is certain is that the story of Shark Alpha remains an unsolved mystery in the ocean world.
In 1938, a deep-sea fish once believed to be extinct was rediscovered off the coast of Africa, igniting speculation about the possible survival of other ancient species, like the Megalodon. This giant shark, larger than a school bus, was believed to inhabit shallow coastal areas, where it would have been easier to spot. However, just because no one has seen it doesn’t mean it’s completely gone. Some scientists theorize that the Megalodon could have evolved over millions of years and now resides in the deep ocean, where it has adapted to the dark, mysterious depths.
Life in the deep sea is sparse, and predators there must adapt to a different environment. If the Megalodon had survived, it would likely look very different today, perhaps resembling a slow-moving sleeper shark rather than the powerful predator of ancient times.
Sleeper sharks, which thrive in deep-sea environments, are generally slow and unaggressive, conserving energy due to the scarcity of food. If a modern Megalodon exists in the deep sea, it might have also become a slower, less ferocious creature, no longer capable of the speed and strength associated with its ancestors. This evolutionary transformation could explain why the Megalodon has remained hidden, but it also means it might no longer resemble the terrifying predator from prehistoric times.
Another contender for the ultimate ocean predator is *Livyatan*, an extinct species of sperm whale with enormous teeth—some measuring up to 14 inches. This whale, thought to have vanished around 9 million years ago, likely hunted large prey, including sharks, making it a fierce competitor for the Megalodon. Some theories suggest that global cooling events led to *Livyatan*’s extinction, as its prey could not adapt to colder waters. However, the exact reasons remain unclear. Unlike deep-sea creatures, *Livyatan*, like modern whales, would have needed to surface for air, making it hard to believe it could have remained hidden for millions of years.
The mysterious sound known as “the Bloop,” recorded in 1997, added to the speculation about ancient sea monsters. Originally detected by researchers monitoring volcanic activity in the Southern Pacific, the Bloop was an extremely loud noise, unlike anything previously heard.
While some conspiracy theorists linked the sound to ancient creatures like Lovecraft’s mythical Cthulhu, scientists later determined the Bloop was likely caused by ice quakes, where underwater icebergs crack and break apart. Although this explanation was less thrilling, it highlights the deep ocean’s potential for housing undiscovered mysteries.
Finally, the case of Shark Alpha, a tagged great white shark, was solved in 2014. After being mysteriously devoured, researchers discovered that Shark Alpha had been eaten by a massive 16-foot-long great white suffering from gigantism, a condition causing abnormally high levels of growth hormone. This giant shark, over two tons in weight, likely cannibalized Shark Alpha during a deep dive to disorient and kill it. While great whites are not typically a threat to humans, this case demonstrates that even the ocean’s fiercest predators aren’t safe from the dark depths and its terrifying inhabitants.
