Looks like this beast bit off a little more than she could chew and no I didn’t just assume the sharks gender. The lack of claspers (shark penises) indicates this is one big old female.
Just off the coast of Japan (Pacific side), the pure girl met a pretty grim demise after choking to death on a sea turtle which too sadly died.
Greg Vella had been fishing when he heard on the radio that a great white was nearby and seemed to have some kind of obstruction protruding from its mouth. The very next day the 2-ton shark was found dead tangled in netting.
“I was out commercial ‘ken ken’ style fishing for tuna when I heard chatter on the radio that there was a white shark swimming around with a big sea turtle in its mouth,” Mr. Vella said. “People started to joke about it, so I did not pay it any more attention. Then the next day, it was found dead, near the bait receivers, tangled in some netting. The commercial guys were bummed, as white sharks do not bother their commercial fishing, and most certainly do bother the things that eat our catch,” he added.
According to Mr. Vella, everyone he had asked about the shark said it had looked “close to death” the day before it died, as the creature had been unable to “dislodge the giant turtle.”
In this case, it’s pretty safe to assume that the cause of death was due to the turtle and not the nets, still it’s pretty sad that the nets were involved. This should prick up the ears of most South African ocean users following the KZN sharks board decision to install drumlines along certain areas of the coast.
So you just asumed that the shark identified as a female? Tut tut.
Note to shark board: better bait drum lines with seaturtles.