Deep Blue: the largest great white shark ever caught on camera by marine biologists and scientists is 20 feet long | Photo: Oliphant/One Ocean Diving

The Deep Blue is the largest great white shark ever caught on camera by marine biologists and scientists.

Deep Blue is 20 feet long (six meters), eight feet high (2.5 meters), and weighs 2.5 tons (2,268 kilograms). This massive creature has razor-sharp teeth and huge fins.

Female great white sharks are often larger than males and tend to be solitary creatures. They stay at high depths while pregnant and approach the coastlines to give birth.

Deep Blue was initially identified in the 1990s.

However, images and footage of the largest great white shark on record in the world were only captured for the first time in 2013.

Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, a marine biologist and shark movement specialist, was conducting research with his team when he found Deep Blue swimming around the boat.

"It is the biggest female I have ever seen in my life," stated Padilla.

Videographer and diving enthusiast Michael Maier filmed the historic encounter from a safe distance.

"Everything was very well prepared, and the whole team felt safe," explained Maier.

"On the second day, I was in the water, and we had to wait. But all of a sudden, there she came. Deep Blue was very calm and just doing circles around us. That's when we realized how big she was."

At the time, Deep Blue swam around the boat's cage for a while and then disappeared into the deep.

Padilla ended up having a close interaction with the queen of the ocean and even high-fived her.

Deep Blue: the female ocean predator weighs around 2.5 tons

Swimming With Deep Blue

Deep Blue always makes rare yet surprising appearances.

In 2019, marine biologist, freediver, and shark conservationist Ocean Ramsey became the first person to swim alongside the giant apex predator for several.

Ramsey made the rare sighting off the coast of Oahu, in Hawaii, when she and her team observed and studied other sharks.

The female predator showed up, and divers jumped into the water to capture the moment.

Based on the markings, scientists knew they were swimming with the largest great white shark known to date.

Deep Blue has several crenulations between her white belly and grey back side, multiple pigmentation patterns across the gills, and unique fingerprints on the pelvic and caudal fins.

She could've been pregnant - or naturally full - but only a blood test for hormone levels would confirm it.

Female great whites have long pregnancies. Their gestation period ranges from 11 to 18 months.

The stunning animal used Ramsey's boat as a scratching post and cruised casually, chasing for food and feasting on the carcass of a sperm whale.

"The dolphins started to come up, and she started to ascend. It looked like they were escorting her. They were dancing around her. It was absolutely incredible," revealed Ocean Ramsey.

A Unique Predator

The giant Deep Blue shark is estimated to be 50 years old and will continue growing in size and weight, even if at a slower pace.

Great whites have a life expectancy of around 70 years.

Contrary to what has been reported, Mauricio Hoyos Padilla and his team have not tagged Deep Blue, meaning no one can follow her movements. Instead, she is frequently spotted in predictable spots year after year.

The largest shark specimen that has ever lived was the Megalodon.

The extinct prehistoric predator grew up to 60 feet (18 meters) and swam the world's oceans approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago.

The Megalodon was one of the most powerful predators to have ever inhabited the Earth and belonged to a species/family that diverged from the great white - the Otodontidae.

You can track and follow other famous great white sharks' movements in an interactive map developed by Ocearch.

The GPS device transmits scientific data related to depth and location to help scientists better understand the predators' behavioral patterns.

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