A 12-foot-9-inch great white shark dubbed “Vimy,” which was captured off the northeastern coast of the U.S., had two big bite marks on his head and body made by an even larger shark, researchers say.
The great white shark, called Vimy, was caught and tagged off the coast near Pennsylvania and Connecticut Monday.
In a photo posted on Facebook by OCEARCH, the shark can be seen with two big bite marks on its head. One bite mark seems pretty healed, but the other they said looks very fresh.
OCEARCH Founding Chairman Chris Fischer said he has two guesses about why the shark might have been bitten: It was either competing with other male sharks for a female, or he tried mating with a larger female, and she bit him.
Fischer said the teeth marks suggest the attacker was two or more feet longer.
Vimy is the newest shark on the organization’s tracker that people can follow through OCEARCH.
OCEARCH is a data-centric organization that helps scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean through research and explorations.
