Carlos Gauna has spent much of the last two years obsessively searching for great white sharks. His stomping grounds are off the coast of Southern California. It’s there that he flies a drone over the ocean, looking for sharks of all sizes and all kinds. As one would expect, he’s captured a lot of stunning footage over the years, most of which shows something unexpected. He’s on a mission to learn everything he can about these amazing creatures, and in this week’s Shark Observations, he talks to a shark biologist from South Africa named Alison Towner.
He spoke to her because he’d noticed a few things he didn’t have an answer to. The first was regarding something Gauna calls “aggregation spots.” There are three places in particular in Southern California that he’s seen sharks, on multiple occasions, come together. Since great whites are generally a solitary animal, it seemed odd to Gauna.
The second thing that he was curious about was a juvenile great white with an enormous scar around its gills. While sharks often have scars somewhere on their bodies — usually caused by boat strikes or scuffles with other sharks — this one was much larger than usual. Gauna asked Towner what caused the scar on this great white shark, and Towner had answers to his questions. They made for an incredibly informative installment from The Malibu Artist.
Learn more about sharks in Ocean Ramsey’s Guide to Sharks and Safety.
