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THE BRINY SEA — About a year ago, The Discovery Channel aired a video as part of Shark Week showing what is believed to be one the biggest great white sharks caught on film.
They lovingly named the nearly 20-foot long female shark Deep Blue, tagged her and sent her hulking, battle-scarred body on her way.
Shark expert Mauricio Hoyos was in that video, and Wednesday he posted a new video of Deep Blue on Facebook. This time she’s right next to a diver, which puts Deep Blue’s massive hulk in terrifying perspective. The shark swims close to the diver — who decided it would be best to come out of the cage for inexplicable reasons — and comes close enough that the diver reaches out and touches one of the shark’s pectoral fins.
Now, if you’re still having a hard time solidifying how big this shark is, she is roughly half the length of a city bus or 2.75 times as long as Shaquille O’Neal.
Many on the Internet are calling the diver-fin interaction a “high-five,” but I am not fooled and will not be lulled into a false sense of friendliness from a 20-foot shark. After all, I’m not a character in a 1970s "Saturday Night Live" skit, although I wouldn’t mind being Gilda Radner in her heyday.
High-five or no, the sight is still impressive. And terrifying. Terrifyingly impressive. Respect nature, kids.
(Video from Mauricio Hoyos on Facebook via imgur)
