Giant shark eaten by mystery 'sea monster' Posted on Sunday, 8 June, 2014 | Comment icon 87 comments "Scientists have identified a Great White Shark that was attacked and eaten by something much larger. The otherwise healthy 2.7m-long shark was being tracked by researchers who were studying its movements when it experienced a sudden and dramatic temperature increase before inexplicably plummeting 580m in to the depths. Four months later its electronic tag was found washed up on a beach in Australia around 4 kilometers from where it had disappeared. The research team believes that the shark had been attacked by a much larger animal, an unidentified behemoth that could be something that has never been seen before. "When I was first told about the data that came back from the tag that was on the shark, I was absolutely blown away," said filmmaker Dave Riggs who is involved in a new documentary that is being produced about the mystery. "The question that not only came to my mind but everyone’s mind who was involved was, ‘what did that?’ It was obviously eaten. What’s gonna eat a shark that big ?"
What devoured this great white shark? By Carter Maguire, special to CNN updated 2:57 PM EDT, Tue June 10, 2014 (CNN) -- Australian researchers are hunting for what they call a "mystery sea monster" that devoured a 9-foot-long great white shark. A tracking device previously planted on the shark was found washed up on a beach, and after analysis, it showed that it had suddenly undergone a rapid increase in temperature and a swift 1,900-foot (580-meter) dive beneath the waves. Scientists attribute the more than 30-degree spike in temperature to the shark entering another animal's digestive system, and the unexpected plunge could be explained by the larger animal's rapid descent. Researchers found the tracking device about 2½ miles from where the shark was tagged. The perplexing situation, which occurred four months after researchers tagged the shark, is chronicled in the Smithsonian Institute's documentary film "Hunt for the Super Predator," which airs in the United States on June 25. "When I was first told about the data that came back from the tag that was on the shark, I was absolutely blown away," filmmaker Dave Riggs says in the documentary. "The question that not only came to my mind but everyone's mind who was involved was, 'What did that?' It was obviously eaten. What's going to eat a shark that big? What could kill a 3-meter (9-foot) great white?" Additional study of sharks in the area provided a possible answer to this question: According to researchers, larger great white sharks were found in the spot where the original shark met its fate. These huge sharks, the scientists say, are big enough to have eaten another great white and are able to dive at the speed and depth observed by the tracking device. It's not unprecedented for sharks to eat other sharks, and the researchers posit that a 2-ton "colossal cannibal great white shark" is a likely culprit in this case. A
In addition to the two things already mentioned, there are monstrous giant squid in the world's oceans. One of those things could easily grab a 9-foot shark and quickly pull it down. That's where I'd place my money.
Why couldn't the shark been attacked and eaten by other sharks or other hungry fish that live under the sea? Why only must it have been eaten by something larger when no one really knows for sure? A school of piranha perhaps? JK
It is pretty well known that Orcas will kill and eat sharks. There are apparently even pods that have developed specialized methods for hunting Sharks. The major clue is the increase in the temperature of the probe which indicates the warm blooded orca. Not sure what the big mystery is.:shrug:
Except Orca's are not deep divers. They are not known to dive below 350 meters...230 meters less than that recorded in this instance. And then there is the question why, why would an Orca munch on a shark immediately before taking a very deep dive? It's an enigma.
Oh I see what is going on. This great mystery happened 11 years ago. The hype around it is because there is a program coming out that is called "Hunt For The Super Predator". Apparently the sudden increase in temperature was only a small temp increase, one you would expect from another great white eating the smaller 9 ft great white (or at least the transmitter).
