The Big Blue
An Outdoor // Nature Blog
Guadalupe Island predator that endured a savage bite to the head last year astonishes divers by reappearing, with its seemingly fatal wound all but closed; 'I thought I'd never see him again'
A savage bite to the head by an adult great white shark would almost always be fatal–unless another great white shark is at the receiving end of such an attack.
The top image, captured last week by Rachel Montero of SharkDiver.com, shows a Guadalupe Island great white affectionately known as Chugey. The Shark Diver crew was pleased to see the 15-foot male shark, but surprised that he was still alive and astonished by how quickly his ominous-looking wound was healing.
The images posted below, captured last year at Guadalupe, show how Chugey looked after another shark had bitten him on the head, removing a large chunk of the gill area.
Martin Graf, Shark Diver chief executive, used before-and-after images of Chugey in a blog post to show viewers how remarkably well Chugey appears to be healing from what was believed to have been a fatal wound.
“I have to admit that I didn’t think much of his chances to survive this bite and thought I’d never see him again,” Graf wrote of a shark that has now been seen every season at Guadalupe since he was first spotted in 2004. (Chugey is named after Chugey Sepulveda, a San Diego scientist.)
Of the more recent images showing Chugey swimming as though nothing had happened, with the gaping wound closing nicely, Graf wrote:
“Look at the amazing difference! There are no veterinarians, no surgeries or stitches, and yet he looks like he’s healing just fine.
“I’m blown away by their ability to survive injuries that would kill just about any other animal and the weirdest thing is, these nasty injuries don’t even seem to bother them all that much.”
Guadalupe Island, which is located 165 miles west of Baja California, is a seasonal gathering place for adult white sharks. They often scuffle during mating rituals and for territorial supremacy, and many bear extensive scarring.
The bite to Chugey’s head, however, was more severe than injuries most Guadalupe shark divers have seen on other sharks.
As for the divers themselves, most of them smartly observe these magnificent predators from the safety of metal cages.
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