A YouTuber known as TheMalibuArtist may have captured the first-ever footage of a newborn great white shark off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The footage, taken by Carlos Gauna using a drone, shows a small shark with a white, flaking substance on its body and unusually rounded fins.
Gauna and shark researcher Phil Sternes from the University of California, Riverside, analysed the footage and estimated the shark to be about 1.5 metres long — the expected size of a newborn. The white layer, they suggest, could be a mucus-like substance shed shortly after birth. Their findings have been published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.
However, not all experts are convinced. Dr Chris Lowe from California State University's shark lab notes that the white layer could also be a skin disease or an unknown condition. "Unfortunately, it's a sample size of one," he says. Sternes acknowledges the possibility but argues that the combination of evidence — the flaking, fin shape, and size — supports the newborn hypothesis.
Drones have revolutionised shark observation, allowing researchers to study behaviour without disturbance. Gauna hopes to one day film an actual birth, as his footage continues to reveal the close proximity of great whites to humans along California's beaches.
