"Chugey" is back at Guadalupe

Just how rough a life do Great White Sharks have? We have talked about the amazing healing power of these amazing animals here and it looks like they really need that ability to heal. Chugey, the shark we were talking about in that blog, is back at Guadalupe Island and it looks like that he hasn't gotten any more careful since he got his face bit. He is sporting some brand new bite marks to add to the scars from his previous bite.

As a reminder, here is what he looked like 2 years ago.

 

Here is what he looks like with his old scar and new bite marks.

 

This is another picture of Chugey, taken by one of our divers, Marie Tartar.

It's great to see him back at Guadalupe acting like nothing happened. I continue to be blown away by both their ability to heal and never showing any signs of discomfort or indication that they are in pain, when swimming around with severe bite injuries. Chugey is one of our "original" sharks at Isla Guadalupe, having visited the island every year for well over a decade.

Tonight we leave on our first science dive of the season. Nicole Nasby-Lucas, who is of course the person responsible for our photo ID database, will be coming out with us. Thanks to her, we can individually identify the sharks and also have a history of when they visited Guadalupe Island.

We have seen a few new sharks this season and I cant wait for her to add them to the database.

What will he be named?

If you would like to come out with us, we only have two spaces open for this season, one each on September 19-24 and on November 5-10. We are also booking for next season and some expeditions are almost sold out. Don't miss your chance for an amazing trip of a lifetime. Call 619.887.4275 or email us at staff@sharkdiver.com for more information or to reserve your space.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at staff@sharkdiver.com.

How fast do Great White Sharks heal?

This is my 13th season at Isla Guadalupe, diving with and observing Great White Sharks. During this time I have learned a lot and found out that I now know a lot less about these sharks than I thought I knew when I started out, all these years ago. It is scary to think that Great White Sharks are an apex predator in  the Ocean and we know very little about them.

A few years ago I heard a quote by Dr. Peter Klimley, probably one of the most respected and knowledgeable scientists, when it come to Great White Sharks. "You want answers?! I got questions!" I thought that was a funny response at the time, but now I'm starting to understand what he meant by that. For every answer I get, a few more questions arise and so I feel like I know less and less as I'm becoming aware of all the things I don't know.

Take for example how sharks heal. The first  picture is of "Chuggy" last year, after he got bit by another shark. He was swimming around with this nasty gash on  his head, like he did not have a care in the world. 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.

The second picture was taken just last week. 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. They swim by like nothing happened, with no discernible change in behavior or activity. They are not "limping" around, they keep swimming around normally, acting exactly like they did the day before.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkoperations@gmail.com.