When reality imitates art. Famous giant white shark ‘Deep Blue’ swims with divers in Hawaii
The famous shark has only been photographed twice before, the last time in Mexico five years ago. Photo: AAP
Like something out of a Hollywood movie set, sensational vision has emerged of the moment a six-metre long great white shark greeted divers in the warm waters off Hawaii.
Believed to be one of the largest great whites in the world, the 50-year-old female dubbed ‘Deep Blue’ for her periodic encounters with humans, swam right at divers and began to check out their boat.
“Maybe she’s pregnant? Maybe she’s itchy,” posted marine biologist Ocean Ramsey on Instagram.
Or maybe she’s just hungry.
With a school of tiger sharks feasting on a dead sperm whale, local swimmers in Oahu on Wednesday were warned to stay away just in case she mistakes them as a solid food source.
“Deep Blue came up and brushed up against the boat. We spent the entire day with her till the sun went down,” Ms Ramsey wrote, with one follower describing her as “beautifully nuts” in her quest for the perfect close encounter.
Here’s something rare & exciting. A great white #shark off #Hawaii – Moreover, this was the famed white shark from Guadalupe Island, #Mexico, known as “Deep Blue” – only ever been previously photographed 2x, the last time 5 years ago. Video via @oneoceandiving pic.twitter.com/QWEDRfDVaY
— Dr. Neil Hammerschlag (@DrNeilHammer) January 16, 2019
“I waited quietly, patiently, observing as she swam up to the dead sperm whale carcass and then slowly to me passing close enough I gently put my hand out to maintain a small space so her girth could pass.
“I know some people criticise touch but what some don’t realise is that sometimes sharks seek touch, she swam away escorted by two rough-toothed dolphins who danced around her over to one of my @oneoceandiving shark research vessels and proceeded to use it as a scratching post, passing up feeding for another need,” she said.
Deep Blue may has made such a name for herself over the years she has her own Twitter account @deep_blue_shark with 17,000 followers and a message: “Next time you dive, don’t try and give me a high five”.
The latest rare sighting caused a stir among the whale-watching community, scientists and TV producers and even the Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, with many issuing greetings including “Aloha Deep Blue, welcome to Hawaii”, “Deep love, Deep Blue”, “hello grandma” and “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
Can you blame Deep Blue the shark for visiting Hawaii? Our temps, our beaches, our dead whale snacks… https://t.co/lzGvy91hXC
— Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (@JointBasePHH) January 16, 2019
Ms Ramsey, a shark conservationist, posted the selfies and video of the encounter to show great whites are not “mindless monsters”.
“We need sharks and yet, perhaps because of the negative and inaccurate way they are portrayed in mass media many people do not care that they are being killed at a rate of 70,000,000-100,000,000 every year!” she said, criticising the mass slaughter of the creatures to make shark-fin soup.
The great white is uncommon in Hawaii’s warm waters, but hunger could have driven Deep Blue out of her comfort zone, Ms Ramsey said.
The rotting whale carcass off the coast of Oahu has drawn packs of divers keen to see the sea life it attracts, but state wildlife officials have warned on Facebook for them to stay away lest sharks mistake them for food.
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