Cue the “Baby Shark” song.
Researchers captured what they believe is the first-ever footage of a live newborn great white shark off the coast of California.
Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna and UC Riverside biology doctoral student Phillip Sternes were scanning the waters near Santa Barbara on July 9, 2023, when they spotted a shark pup on their drone viewfinder.
The pup, however, didn’t look like one they had seen before. The shark was small and had a pale film covering its body.
“We enlarged the images, put them in slow motion, and realized the white layer was being shed from the body as it was swimming,” Sternes said. “I believe it was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer.”
The footage could help researchers solve the longstanding mystery of great white birthing habits.
“Where white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science. No one has ever been able to pinpoint where they are born, nor has anyone seen a newborn baby shark alive,” Gauna said.
Scholars believe great whites are born farther out at sea, but this pup was filmed roughly 1,000 feet from the beach, meaning it was likely born in shallow waters.
Great whites are listed as an international endangered species.
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