Could The Biggest Shark Ever Bite A Ship In Half

Bright Side

Sharks are some of the most feared and fascinating creatures of the ocean. But there is one shark that stands out from the rest: the megalodon. This giant prehistoric shark was so massive that it could bite a ship in half. In this video, we'll explore how big the megalodon really was, how powerful its bite was, and what would happen if it encountered a modern vessel.  #brightside #brightsideglobal  TIMESTAMPS: 0:01 Megalodon 08:17 Myths about sharks 17:40 An island that always gets attacked by sharks  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00The megalodon was the biggest shark to ever live.

00:03Not only that, it's one of the biggest fish and the largest predator in Earth's history.

00:08They've been known to reach lengths of up to a whopping 70 feet.

00:11That's over three times longer than the biggest great white shark on record.

00:15The females have also been found to be around twice the size of the males.

00:19The megalodon could swallow a small car without it even touching its teeth,

00:24if cars had been around that.

00:25Its teeth could grow to over 7 inches long.

00:28It looks like we're going to need a bigger boat,

00:30and best make it steel-plated, as this shark can easily gnaw its way through ships.

00:35The underwater terror could bite a ship clean in half

00:38with the highest bite force ever calculated for any animal, living or extinct.

00:43The force of its ferocious bite was up to 40,000 pounds.

00:47That's around 108,000 times the strength of a human's

00:50and 10 times the force of a modern crocodile's bite.

00:54Its chomp is so strong that it makes the T-Rex's bite look about as powerful as my granny's,

00:59after she's taken her dentures out.

01:01In fact, the Meg was so big and powerful that it had no natural predators.

01:06It was the uncrowned king of the seas, swimming freely from ocean to ocean.

01:11This cosmopolitan creature was found all over the world,

01:14from America to Europe and Australia to Japan,

01:17assuming there were countries back then.

01:19Meg fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica.

01:24Everybody skips Antarctica.

01:26Science tells us that the Megalodon went extinct over 3.6 million years ago.

01:30But could they still be alive at the deepest depths of the ocean?

01:34Only around 80% of the ocean has been explored,

01:37and its deepest point, the Mariana Trench, is over 7 miles down.

01:41So who knows what's lurking at the bottom?

01:44If you did manage to make it down,

01:46it is unlikely that you'll run into a Meg, though.

01:48The sharks, like us, preferred warmer coastal waters.

01:52Deep ocean living would be too cold for the beasts, and food would be scarce.

01:56Their entire bodies would also have to evolve

01:59to avoid being squished by the enormous water pressure down there.

02:03It's unlikely they're still around, but not impossible.

02:06Some good news if you do run into one is that the shark is pretty unlikely to eat you.

02:11You are way too small a meal for the Megalodon,

02:14even if you have a couple of friends with you.

02:16This guy eats whales that are over 50 feet long.

02:19If you're having a beach party, though, it's a different story.

02:23In a beach full of swimmers, the shark very well might creep up,

02:27scooping several humans into its giant mouth without even chewing.

02:30But wait, let's rewind.

02:32How does the shark take down a 50-foot whale?

02:34It first bites off its fins, making the whale unable to swim away.

02:39It then casually munches it down piece by piece.

02:42Because of their size, sharks had to consume over a ton of food every single day

02:46just to sustain themselves, like me.

02:49All that food made the Megalodon extremely heavy.

02:52They ranged from anywhere between 50 to over 100 tons.

02:56For context, that's around the same as 7 to 16 adult male African elephants.

03:01To fit all this food in, their jaws had to open pretty wide.

03:05A Megalodon's jaw could span 9 by 11 feet wide.

03:09That's easily big enough to swallow two adult humans side by side.

03:13The fearsome name Megalodon comes from two Greek words.

03:17Mega, meaning big, and odont, meaning tooth.

03:20So combined, they mean what?

03:23Big tooth.

03:24And it certainly lives up to its name.

03:26Just one of its chompers is the same size as a human head.

03:29It had 276 humongous teeth in total across five terrifying rows.

03:36In all of history, only a couple of saber-toothed cats and the T-Rex had consistently bigger teeth.

03:41Now that's a showdown I'd like to watch.

03:44The Megalodon vanished millions of years ago, leaving only huge teeth to be found by modern archaeologists.

03:50They literally disappeared with very few traces left.

03:53Scientists believe that over time, sea levels dropped and the ocean temperatures went down rapidly.

03:58Over a third of all marine life was wiped out as the oceans cooled, and a number of animals at

04:04the bottom of the food chain plummeted.

04:06This had a catastrophic effect on the hungry predators at the top.

04:10Sorry, guys.

04:11It became way too cold for these sun-loving sharks too, which made it difficult for them to reproduce since

04:17they gave birth in warm waters.

04:19The Megalodon is usually described as a sort of giant great white shark, but this is just a common myth.

04:25In fact, the ancestors of today's great white existed at the same time as the Meg.

04:31But they weren't best buddies, and were even in competition with each other.

04:34The great white shark was a better hunter, using its smaller size and agility to snap up the Meg's prey

04:40quickly.

04:41They were also known to eat Meg pups, who were only half their size.

04:45This didn't help the whole extinction thing.

04:47Even infant Megalodons were huge, coming in at just under 7 feet.

04:52While a great white was no match for an adult Meg in a head-to-head fight, they sure weren't

04:57scared of stealing their food.

04:58This only left the bigger fish and whales for the Meg.

05:01But its food supplies began to run out as the whales swam to the cooler new seas.

05:06The whales adapted to prefer the colder temperatures, leaving our friend the Meg behind.

05:11The Megalodons either starved or were frozen into extinction by the Ice Age.

05:15Rather than a great white, the Megalodon is more like a modern bull shark.

05:20It had a short snout, flat lower jaw, and huge pectoral fins to support its massive weight and size.

05:26As scary as they are, these sharks were actually caring family guys.

05:31Several Megalodon nursery areas have been discovered in Florida, Maryland, and Panama.

05:36They gave birth to their young in shallow water environments.

05:38We know this from discovering loads of tiny Megalodon teeth found in these areas.

05:44Gee, I wonder if they had nannies, too.

05:46But how come there are so many Megalodon teeth out there for us to analyze?

05:50Well, due to their messy, aggressive eating habits, sharks regularly lose their teeth.

05:55They lose a set of teeth every 1-2 weeks.

05:58That's 40,000 teeth in a lifetime.

06:00They must rake in a fortune from the tooth fairy.

06:03Because of this, their teeth were continuously raining down to the ocean floor.

06:07Luckily for us, they're also the hardest part of a shark skeleton, which is why so many

06:12teeth have survived and become fossilized.

06:14It's fair to say that the first discoveries of the Meg's teeth confused people.

06:19Early discoverers thought the Meg's teeth were petrified tongues of ancient serpent creatures.

06:24They even used to call them tongue stones.

06:26It's also a common myth that the Megalodon was around at the same time as the dinosaurs.

06:31Although, this would have been pretty cool.

06:33The dinosaurs were wiped out around 66 million years ago.

06:37But the Megalodons came much later.

06:39The oldest Meg fossil is only around 23 million years old.

06:43But it's tricky to pinpoint the exact date.

06:46After all, calendars weren't invented yet.

06:48They became extinct way before humans even evolved.

06:52The earliest Homo sapiens, which is a fancy name for the first humans, emerged about 2.5 million years ago.

06:58But what if the Megalodon shark didn't go extinct?

07:02Whale populations have dropped drastically since these guys were last round, so there'd be way fewer whales for them to

07:08chomp down on.

07:09Whales have also gotten a lot smarter and learned new defensive moves, making them way harder to take down.

07:15It's estimated that they ate around 12 tons of food each day.

07:19If they were still around and eating that much, they'd be forced to eat smaller fish, and there'd be barely

07:24enough big fish for us humans to survive on.

07:27The naughty Megalodons would also be able to track fishing boats and steal the fish that they worked hard to

07:33collect.

07:33It's safe to say we'd see a lot less fish in the aisles of your neighborhood supermarket.

07:38As our ocean temperatures are heating up again, the sharks would also thrive and reproduce faster than ever.

07:44There'd be more and more of these giant eating machines in the water, reducing our fish supply even more.

07:50It would also cause massive problems for cargo ships and cruising vessels.

07:54Imagine coming into contact with one of these bad boys while you're sunbathing on the deck.

07:59Even beachgoers would be hard hit.

08:02Megalodons give birth in shallow waters, so many of our favorite beaches would quickly become dangerous shark nursing grounds.

08:09Hey, where did that beach volleyball game go?

08:11They were playing just a moment ago.

08:16Lights, camera, action!

08:18Many of us can't even imagine a world without movies, but sharks probably don't feel the same.

08:24A study revealed that the global population of sharks and rays took a nosedive by more than 71% between

08:311970 and 2018.

08:34And guess who's feeling a bit fishy about it?

08:37None other than legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

08:42Let's take a look at what Jaws got wrong about these toothy creatures.

08:46Sharks are not vengeful.

08:48In Jaws, The Revenge, the great white shark takes on the role of a vengeful villain, seeking revenge against the

08:55humans who dared to cross its path.

08:58Let's set the record straight.

09:00Sharks don't possess the cognitive capacity for grudges or revenge plots.

09:04They're simple creatures following their instincts, reacting to their environment, and doing their sharky thing.

09:10It means that these animals don't target humans as prey.

09:14The movie made us a little more cautious during beach outings, painting the great white shark as a human-seeking

09:20missile of hunger.

09:22Most shark attacks occur due to cases of mistaken identity, where a curious shark mistakes a splashing swimmer for a

09:29delectable seal or other marine critters.

09:31The great white shark in the movie is portrayed as a remorseless, mindless beast, driven solely by its insatiable appetite

09:39for carnage.

09:41In reality, sharks are intelligent and curious creatures, playing crucial roles in maintaining the delicate balance of our ocean's ecosystems.

09:49Plus, they aren't all the same.

09:52Jaws may have popularized the image of the great white shark as the quintessential shark, but the reality is far

09:59more diverse.

10:00There are over 500 different species of sharks, each with its own unique characteristics, behavior, and personality.

10:08They're like a vibrant cast of oceanic characters, each playing their part in the grand underwater production.

10:15Turns out, Spielberg is swimming in a sea of guilt over this mega-hit summer blockbuster from 1975.

10:22In an interview, the director, who was just a newbie at the time, expressed his concern about the film's unintended

10:29consequences on shark populations.

10:31Now, before we blame Spielberg for all the wolves of the deep blue, let's dive deeper into the details.

10:38Some experts argue that people would have been fishing for sharks regardless of the movie.

10:43I'll call this theory the Jaws myth.

10:46Sadly, it turns out that the most significant effect is the shark fin trade.

10:51They're also unintentionally caught in colossal numbers as accidental bycatch.

10:57Picture this.

10:58In unregulated areas of the Pacific Ocean, where 70% of the world's tuna is fished,

11:04baited nets as long as 100 miles are set to catch those sought-after fish.

11:09But guess what?

11:09These nets often end up snaring even more sharks than tuna.

11:14From the iconic score to the legendary, you're gonna need a bigger boat line,

11:22Jaws introduced sharks to the masses and instilled a primal fear in the public consciousness.

11:27The movie's reputation has been swimming in troubled waters due to its portrayal of these magnificent creatures as vengeful monsters.

11:34Jaws may have made us think twice about dipping our toes into the ocean,

11:38but it's crucial to remember that it's a work of fiction designed to entertain and thrill.

11:46Funny enough, decades later, Finding Nemo mentioned the fear Jaws imposed on the audience with a twist.

11:52Do you remember the scene where Nemo and his friends encounter a group of sharks called the Fish-Friendly Sharks?

11:59This scene presents a humorous take on the perception of sharks as predators and challenges the stereotype.

12:05Speaking of Finding Nemo, did you know the movie actually took its toll on the real-life clownfish population?

12:12After the movie came out and became a huge hit, people loved Nemo so much that they started buying their

12:18own clownfish as pets.

12:20Sales of these fish skyrocketed by up to 40%.

12:25The problem is these clownfish are usually taken from the ocean, which isn't great for their natural habitats.

12:31It kinda goes against the movie's message of leaving fish in the sea.

12:36Oops!

12:36Even though the movie promoted conservation, people went in the opposite direction.

12:41Turns out, America is the biggest buyer of these tropical fish,

12:45with over 400,000 of them being shipped into the country each year.

12:50That's a lot of fish.

12:52It's causing some serious issues, like the local extinction of clownfish in certain areas.

12:58Next up, the Harry Potter series.

13:00The popularity of owls as pets rose after the Harry Potter books and movies were released.

13:06While the impact on wild owl populations may not be as significant as with marine fish,

13:11there were concerns about people obtaining owls without proper knowledge of their care,

13:16leading to abandonment or mistreatment.

13:20After the Harry Potter movies came out, lots of fans went crazy for owls.

13:25They wanted to have an adorable companion just like Harry's head wig.

13:29Taking care of an owl is no piece of cake.

13:32These feathered friends can live up to 20 years and require a lot of attention.

13:37So, what happened?

13:38Well, once the Harry Potter storm eased, many owl owners realized they weren't ready for such a pet and got

13:46tired.

13:48Rescue centers all over the UK were overflowing with abandoned owls.

13:53Yep, people just couldn't handle the responsibility anymore, and poor owls ended up in the rescue centers.

13:59You see, owning an owl isn't a walk in the park.

14:03You need a big aviary, which can cost around $1,150.

14:09And these magnificent creatures need space to spread their wings.

14:13Surprisingly, keeping an owl without a license is legal.

14:16But releasing a captive owl into the wild can land you six months in jail for a fine of around

14:23$6,300.

14:25Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has even pleaded with fans to think twice before getting an owl as a

14:31pet.

14:32She's made it clear that owls deserve more than being locked up in small cages.

14:36Instead, she suggests sponsoring an owl at a bird sanctuary, where you can visit and ensure that your feathered friend

14:44leads a happy and healthy life.

14:47What about the 101 Dalmatians movie from 1961?

14:51This Disney film popularized Dalmatian dogs as pets, resulting in a surge in demand for the breed.

14:58Unfortunately, the popularity led to irresponsible breeding practices and the overbreeding of Dalmatians,

15:05which subsequently caused numerous health and temperament issues.

15:10To uncover these insights, scientists delved into data from the American Kennel Club,

15:15which keeps track of over 65 million dogs in its registry.

15:19They analyzed 87 dog-centric films, including favorites like The Shaggy Dog.

15:27The Twilight Saga portrays wolves, which sparked many people's interest in wolf-like dog species.

15:33However, many individuals were not adequately prepared to care for these animals.

15:38These magnificent creatures are not your typical dogs.

15:41They require ample space, energy, and special attention.

15:45According to specialists, there has been a 120% surge in wolf-like breeds,

15:50such as huskies, malamutes, and akitas being surrendered to rescue centers across the UK alone,

15:57not to mention the rest of the world.

15:59Let's blame it on Jacob Black.

16:01In 2012, when The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 was released,

16:06the shelter welcomed nearly 100 huskies, 35 akitas, and 16 malamutes into their loving care.

16:13It's not just animals that gained popularity thanks to the Twilight movies.

16:17Remember the scene where the Belward couple dined in a restaurant?

16:21Well, in the book and the movie, Bella enjoyed mushroom ravioli,

16:25and this dish became incredibly popular.

16:28Initially, fans flocked to the fork to taste it,

16:31but the demand became so high that the company started producing frozen ravioli,

16:36making it accessible to everyone.

16:38And this fascinating relationship between food and movies isn't limited to Twilight.

16:44To All the Boys I've Loved Before, unexpectedly boosted yogurt sales.

16:48Since the movie appeared on Netflix, Korean yogurt sales have skyrocketed.

16:53Even the stock market got in on the action, with shares rising by approximately 2.6%.

16:59Fans particularly loved the scene when Peter tried the yogurt for the first time.

17:06And don't forget Game of Thrones.

17:08The popularity of the direwolf, a fictional species in the series,

17:13led to an increased demand for certain dog breeds resembling direwolves,

17:17like the Northern Inuit dog.

17:20I mean, this didn't directly impact wild wolf populations,

17:23but it did result in overbreeding and unethical practices.

17:27It seems like fantasy is a lot easier to handle than reality.

17:33Have you ever heard of an island that is regularly attacked by sharks?

17:38For many years, people living there haven't been able to find a way to stop this.

17:43Neither can they understand why sharks come there so often.

17:47So, what's going on?

17:49Why do these predators keep bothering this specific island

17:52while completely ignoring the others in the area?

17:55Let's go to this mysterious place and try to find out.

18:00July 22nd, 2015.

18:02The ocean waters near Reunion Island were clear and transparent.

18:06The western part of the island, St. Louis, had always been a great spot for surfing.

18:12But on this pleasant sunny day, one of the locals almost lost his life.

18:17A six-foot bull shark appeared out of nowhere.

18:21Once right next to the shore,

18:22It suddenly charged at surfer Rodolphe Ariagui.

18:26His friend, doctor, and professor of geography at the University of La Reunion,

18:31Erwan Lagabriel, was nearby, talking with two other surfers at that moment.

18:38Suddenly, they heard some noise.

18:40Realizing that it was his friend, Lagabriel rushed to help.

18:44The shark was 65 feet away from him.

18:47He said that all of this felt like some kind of a horror movie.

18:50He rushed to Ariagui, even though he didn't understand what exactly had happened.

18:55At first, Ariagui's body was surrounded by white foam.

18:59It then began to turn pink, and then red.

19:04Lagabriel said later that it had been one of the scariest things he had seen in his life.

19:09Fortunately, when he swam closer, the shark had already been gone.

19:14Lagabriel knew that in most cases, a second attack doesn't happen.

19:18So he hurried to help his friend.

19:20It took them some time to get back to the shore.

19:22When Lagabriel pulled his friend onto the beach, he immediately made a tourniquet from a surfboard leash.

19:28After that, Monsieur Ariagui was rushed to the hospital.

19:33Fortunately, this story has a good ending.

19:36Although the 45-year-old man lost his arm, he still survived.

19:40But he was one of the few lucky ones.

19:43Because this horrifying story is just one of dozens that happened on Reunion Island in recent decades.

19:50Reunion Island is one of the regions of France.

19:52It's located right near Madagascar, together with its neighbor, Mauritius.

19:56They're both located at the same latitude as Australia.

20:01These two islands are very similar.

20:03They have almost the same climate and natural conditions, similar languages and cultures.

20:08But there's one huge difference between the two of them.

20:11In Mauritius, people can relax and have fun in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean,

20:16swimming with scuba gear and watching dolphins.

20:19Meanwhile, on La Reunion, locals are afraid even to put their fingers in the water.

20:24But why is that?

20:27Unfortunately, Reunion now has a strong reputation as a shark island.

20:32By 2018, 56 attacks had occurred there.

20:35From 2011 to 2016, the number of these cases accounted for 16% of the worldwide shark attacks.

20:44Now, there are warning signs everywhere on Reunion.

20:47Local citizens and fishers have begun to discuss the options of large-scale shark trapping.

20:52The authorities forbid people to swim almost everywhere,

20:56except for a few more or less safe places, like, for example, a coral lagoon.

21:02And still, any fisher or scientist knows that sharks can easily get inside these coral rings.

21:09In other words, locals and tourists can't feel completely safe anywhere on the island.

21:15Meanwhile, in Mauritius, the last shark attack happened in the 1980s.

21:20People come here to relax, and everything is perfectly fine.

21:23So the question is, why in the world is La Reunion so unlucky?

21:28Dr. LaGabriel, the hero I mentioned before, set himself the goal of explaining this strange phenomenon.

21:35His study showed that over the past 30 years, the probability of a shark attack on Reunion had increased by

21:4223 times.

21:44And in 9 out of 10 cases, it turns out to be a bull shark.

21:48If you haven't heard about it, this creature looks exactly like what you would imagine when you hear the word

21:54shark.

21:54It's one of the most popular species, and the one that you often see in different movies and cartoons.

22:01These sharks live in tropical and subtropical waters in all oceans.

22:06Most often, they're found, yeah, you've probably already guessed, in the southern waters between Australia and South Africa.

22:13This place is even nicknamed a shark highway, because these predators really, really like to chill around there.

22:20This is also one of the most aggressive shark species, and it's very dangerous for humans.

22:25Unfortunately, it's also very tolerant to different water salinity,

22:30which means they can basically swim even in fresh water and be totally cool with it.

22:35But why do all these Reunion island attacks happen so often?

22:39Well, there are many theories and many different factors that might play their role in all this.

22:45Marc Suria, a researcher at the IRD, the French National Institute for Research and Development,

22:51decided to conduct a study together with his team.

22:54They spent three years trying to collect data on 45 tiger sharks and 38 bull sharks living in local waters.

23:02The National Research Institute of France supported this study.

23:05It was also funded by three research foundations, regional, national, and European.

23:11That's when you know that the problem is serious.

23:14And now, here are the main theories developed by Suria's team and LaGabrielle.

23:19The first one is excessive fishing.

23:22Experts suggest that long-term fishing and catching small reef sharks,

23:26which competed with dangerous sharks for food and territory,

23:29eventually led to these dramatic consequences.

23:33Unfortunately, when predatory bull sharks ran out of food,

23:36they just had to go looking for it near the coast.

23:39For bull sharks, surfers on Reunion look like sick, weakened fish,

23:44and therefore, an easy meal.

23:47Also, while in Mauritius, surfers tend to hang out near sandy beaches.

23:51On Reunion, they choose places where waves break at coral reefs.

23:55But this is exactly where the sharks choose to search for food.

23:59So, yeah.

24:00The second possible reason is muddy waters.

24:04Bull sharks like such conditions very much.

24:06And although there are no natural places like these on Reunion,

24:10the reason could be the construction of urban areas.

24:13Muddy freshwater gets into bays from cities.

24:16This water attracts sharks.

24:18And this is where the attacks take place most often.

24:22But then we can ask again,

24:24why not Mauritius?

24:25Urbanization is also in full swing there, after all.

24:28There are many places in Mauritius where sewage waters flow into the ocean.

24:33Well, then we can conclude that this is not the only factor.

24:37There have to be others.

24:39For example, there is an active volcano, Piton de la Fornaise, on Reunion Island.

24:45Thanks to this beautiful volcano, there are rich flora and fauna on the island.

24:49And this could be great if it didn't attract too much attention from predators.

24:54Because of the volcano, the shores of Reunion are less steep,

24:58which makes it easier to swim closer to the coast.

25:01And sedimentary rocks that get washed away from the slopes of the volcano can attract bull sharks.

25:06As we already know, these guys love muddy waters.

25:10There are some other theories.

25:12For example, Lagabriel suggests that attacks may be connected to an increase in the shark population.

25:18Or maybe that's because these creatures become more aggressive during mating periods.

25:23Some people assume that all of this could be Mauritius' fault,

25:27because they banned catching and selling sharks for meat.

25:30But Saria and other experts strongly disagree with this.

25:34Not many people on both islands bought this meat to make any significant difference.

25:40Anyway, this whole situation caused a lot of tension on Reunion.

25:44A big part of the population now supports the idea of catching sharks on a large scale.

25:49They also built some underwater fences near the island.

25:52And the maintenance of these fences costs a million dollars a year.

25:56It may seem pretty extreme, but drastic times require drastic measures.

26:02But despite all these terrible stories,

26:05in general, sharks aren't nearly as dangerous as we think.

26:09They almost never attack divers, unless a person provokes them.

26:13Experienced divers often compare sharks with stray dogs.

26:17These animals shouldn't be feared, but should be respected.

26:21Anyway, let's hope that La Reunion will be able to solve this problem,

26:25and people will be able to swim in its warm, beautiful waters again.

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