what ate "alpha" the great white shark

[shart_attack]

By Tom Head, Mysterious Universe—Gizmodo’s James Baker highlights Smithsonian‘s story of a tagged nine-foot (2.7m) great white shark whose electronic tag washed up on the beach. When scientists checked the data, they discovered a terrifying sequence of events: the tag had been dragged 1,900 feet (580m) below the surface, then eaten—achieving a 78°F temperature, 32°F higher than a great white shark’s normal body temperature. So this raises a reasonable question: what could possibly eat a nine-foot great white shark?

Conventional wisdom would suggest that it was an orca, obliviously gobbling up the tag while foraging for shark livers. They’re large enough—typically two to three times the size of the missing shark—and they have a well-documented history of hunting great white sharks. But the trouble with this theory is that as far as we know, orcas never go that deep; they typically stay near the surface, with the deepest recorded dive measuring 850 feet (259m) under controlled conditions. So if this was an orca, we have a new record.

Another possibility, raised by several Gizmodo commenters, is that the shark itself was attacked or killed near the surface of the water, dislodging the tag, which was then separated from the shark, dragged underwater, and eaten. The problem with this theory is that great white sharks are lamnoid sharks, which means that their body temperature tends to run slightly warmer than the surrounding water. If the tag and/or surrounding tissue had been removed from the shark before it was consumed, the tag would have presumably recorded an abrupt temperature drop prior to the temperature increase. It didn’t. Something dragged the nine-foot, still-living shark more than a third of a mile underwater, then ate the tag.

Could another great white shark have done it, as the documentary suggests? Possibly, but I don’t see how; assuming the tag was lodged in muscle tissue, it would have been 7-9°F warmer than the surrounding water. Prior to the temperature shift, the tag recorded a temperature of 46°F; this would suggest a rather chilly water temperature of 37 to 39°F. The temperature range of a great white shark’s belly under these circumstances would be 13-25°F warmer than the surrounding water temperature, somewhere between 52°F and 64°F. The temperature recorded in whatever it was that ate the shark was 78°F. Assuming a consistent water temperature, I can think of no reason why the muscle tissue of Shark Alpha would be 32°F colder than the belly of another great white shark.

Any ideas, readers?

Great White Shark Eater - What Eats Great White Sharks | Mysterious Universe

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_QyGANCUJI]Something Ate This Shark — But What?[/ame]

 

[CrusaderFrank]

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Killer whale.

 

[SteadyMercury]

Sperm whale with a calf?

A sperm whale could definitely take out a shark, the case against that would be that sperm whales dive to hunt on the bottom, however if the shark was taken out in an act of defensive aggression near the surface maybe fits.

 

[Moonglow]

what ate "alpha" the great white shark

Clinical depression...

 

[Unkotare]

It's so obvious:

 

[shart_attack]

Killer whale.

Sperm whale with a calf?

A sperm whale could definitely take out a shark, the case against that would be that sperm whales dive to hunt on the bottom, however if the shark was taken out in an act of defensive aggression near the surface maybe fits.

Or a Megalodon that the Cretaceous Period asteroid didn't wipe out.

 

[boedicca]

Giant Squid!

 

[shart_attack]

Megalodon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[peach174]

A Megalodon?


They are probably no longer 60 ft. long, but they could still exist and may be 30 or 25 ft. long.

This shark is still alive, thought to have been extinct. Why not Megalodon.

 

[shart_attack]

A Megalodon?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHuvs9Qqa5o
They are probably no longer 60 ft. long, but they could still exist and be 30 or 25 ft. long.

This shark is still alive, thought to have been extinct. Why not Megalodon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mneDhOtVEQw

Yup yup.

Stranger things have happened. The offspring of a Plesiosaur, which, like the Megalodon, thrived in warm seas millions of years ago, somehow surviving today in the chilly conditions of Loch Ness, is a good example.

 

[sameech]

Well since there is only a five degree difference, another great white with a fever or a whale of some sort. It was a pretty small shark in the grand scheme of things.

 

[blastoff]

Had to be something awfully big, huge really, so my money's on Oprah Winfrey or Whoopi Goldberg.