Shocked researchers are trying to figure out what apex predator took down the 8-foot-long shark that was roaming the oceans — and they think it may have been another, much larger shark.
Scientists from three states had been tracking a pregnant porbeagle shark for five months and hundreds of miles, from New England to Bermuda, when one of the tags they had attached to the shark suddenly began transmitting higher-than-normal temperature readings. According to USA Today.
“We knew something had happened,” James Sulikowski, director of Oregon State University's Oregon Coastal Marine Laboratory, told the outlet.
Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the temperature spike, which occurred while the shark was still deep in cold ocean waters, meant that other animals had eaten the shark, according to the study published Tuesday in a peer-reviewed journal. The forefront of marine science.
“We knew the tag was in a warm-blooded animal,” Sulikowski said, “and we knew it wasn't a whale or a mammal, because mammals are a lot warmer than that.”
Scientists from Oregon State University, Arizona State University and the Atlantic Shark Institute in Rhode Island believe one of the creature's relatives is the culprit.
“My guess is it's probably a mako or great white shark, because they get bigger than porbeagle sharks,” Sulikowski said.
These two marine predators, like the porbeagle shark, have body temperatures between 77 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
When the subject died, the tag's temperature reading spiked to that exact value.
Mr Sulikowski said the unusual shark feast showed how little people know about the ocean.
“I wanted to study and learn more about how susceptible other large sharks are to being eaten and who comes out on top among them.”
