A GREAT white shark has been dubbed the toughest in the world thanks to his distinctive scars after years of underwater battles.
From mating bites to boat propellers, the predator’s big scars and bite marks sparked a speculation over what caused them – but an expert has now narrowed down on a different theory.
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The great white shark – dubbed Scarface for his battles wounds – was spotted near the Neptune Islands in South Australia in 2021.
Underwater cinematographer Dean Spraakman shot the stunning footage during an expedition.
The extraordinary clip shows the wounded shark with lacerations over every inch of its skin as it dwarfs the small fish swimming alongside it.
At the time, Dean said no one had come across a shark so badly hurt before.
And despite multiple theories regarding the reason behind the marks including mating bites, boat propellers, Mako shark bites and scraping on the reef, Dean has reached a different conclusion.
The experienced diver believes the most probable explanation behind the shark’s marks is a series of clashes with giant squids.
He told The Sun: “There is something going on off our continental shelf where we believe Great Whites are having run ins with giant squids.
“Unproven of course but over the years these types of scrape marks have been seen semi-often even with tentacles hanging from them.
“This angle is something we have also discussed with Shark Week/Shark Fest shows and is my best theory on what happened to that particular shark.
“The Southern Australia population of Great White Sharks have been seen with scars like that seen on my battered Great White Shark for many years, just never that many before.
“On rare occasions they have even been seen with tentacles hanging from these scrape marks indicating that they could be from giant squid.
“It’s not known whether Giant Squid actually exist off our continental shelf but this would indicate that they do and that some of the southern Great White population is having altercations with them at times.”
Dean said the giant squid theory is his “best hypothesis”.
And he’s sure that the distinctive marks did not come from orcas, mating or boat propellers.
“I hope to one day learn more about this if we are lucky,” he said.
“I’ve been out a number of times after I first saw this shark on Nat Geo and Discovery shows, but this shark has not been seen again.
“They are very migratory so as much as we do see the same sharks at times, even years apart it’s also common to see specific sharks only once.
The shark has not let his underwater clashes get him down and Dean said he was “incredibly friendly”.
He said at the time: “No one has ever seen a shark in a condition like this before.
“I noticed he had scars on him but I didn’t realise to what length until I reviewed the footage later.
“He was very calm and coming close and quite curious which was great.
“He was really friendly, just very calm and wasn’t aggravated from everything he’s been through.
“He came very close, within an arm’s reach from me – sometimes when you get a good shark like that, they just want to come and look you in the eye, just have a really good look at who you are.”
There is something going on off our continental shelf where we believe Great Whites are having run ins with giant squids
Dean Spraakman
Another theory, according to National Geographic explorer Prof Yannis Papastamatiou, is that the marks were caused during a brawl with another shark.
The predator behavioral expert said: “Females are often heavily scarred from mating behaviour.
“But males can get bitten as well during dominance interactions between sharks – e.g. a larger shark may want a smaller shark and dominate the smaller individual with a non-fatal warning bite.
“Some of the scarrings around the face may also be caused by their prey such as seals.”
The coasts of Australia, California, and South Africa are among the most popular great white sharks hotspots – but there have been occasions the predators have been spotted in the Mediterranean as well.
The Neptune Islands, where the shark was spotted, are well known as a venue for great white tourism.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The species can reach up to 20ft long, seen with Deep Blue the biggest great white ever recorded, weighing in a whopping 2.5 tonnes.
Great white shark factfile
- Great White Sharks are usually 4.5m (15ft) in length
- They are a blue-grey colour on the top of the bodies
- Strong bodies and powerful tails help the marine mammals swim as fast as 35mph
- They stay close to the surface of the water, so they can capture their prey more easily
- Most of the world’s Great White Sharks live off the coast of South Africa
- Their sense of smell is so good that the sharks can detect the scent of blood from three miles away
- Great White Sharks have a whopping 230 teeth in their mouth – making just one bite fatal
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