Featured Image Credit: OceanX/Youtube
If you think there’s a lot to explore in space, the ocean holds even more secrets.
The deepest part of the ocean, known as the Challenger Deep located in the Western Pacific Ocean, is approximately 35,876 feet (10,935 metres). That’s almost 33,000 feet taller than the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, for context. So the ocean really is still a mystery to us.
Footage uploaded to YouTube by OceanX issues this point perfectly, showcasing a monstrous deep-sea shark that is the stuff of nightmares.
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Filmed in 2019, the footage shows OceanX divers trying to tag a massive bluntnose sixgill shark from a submersible, which has never been done before. This meant the team didn’t have to bring the sharks up to the surface to tag them, which can be incredibly risky.
What’s even more insane is that this species of shark has been around since before the dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs.
As they watch the shark nose around the submersible, the divers are taken aback when the shark opens an eerily human-looking eye to look straight up at them.
The divers confirm that the shark is female, with on estimating that she’s “bigger than the sub” with genuine awe.
You can hear the astonishment and excitement in the divers’ voices on the video too, letting out exclamations like ‘woah! That is amazing’.
The team were incredibly patient, too, waiting to get the perfect clear shot to embed the tracker, holding off even when she’s incredibly close to make sure they get the right shot.
The video now has an impressive 25m views on YouTube, and commenters were as blown away as us with one writing ‘I got chills when the shark opened its eyes, never seen anything like that before!’. Another remarked on the shark’s eerie eye contact saying ‘I never knew a shark’s eye could look anything like that. Was so human-like’.
A third commenter was in awe: ‘This is something out of a sci-fi movie..the creatures we have on this planet are just amazing’.
Another commenter joked: ‘The shark just looks at them like “those damn aliens again..”’
When you see a creature like that up close, it really must be something else. Especially for these divers who were carrying out a brand-new technique, it must have been pretty exciting. But I have to say, if a shark looked at me like that, I’d have to be out of there.
