Shark That Can Live For 400 Years Found 4000 Miles from Home

Extraordinary Discovery

Students from Florida International University had partnered with local fishermen off the coast of Belize. Their mission was to find and tag tiger sharks. However, they discovered something far more impressive and unusual. A large shark got hung up on the end of the fishing lines. It wasn’t a tiger shark. And it didn’t look like any species the students or fishermen had ever seen. One of the students, Devanshi Kasana, snapped a quick photo to consult her advisor.

Unusual Greenland Shark

Her advisor believed it was a Greenland shark and subsequently received confirmation from experts on the elusive animal. 

Ancient Animal

Two things made this spotting so unusual. First is that this shark species lives in arctic waters, which are roughly 4,000 miles north of Belize. The other is that this shark species is ancient and half-blind. Scientists who study Greenland sharks estimate that they are 250-500 years old.

How Many Are Left in the World?

Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are relatively shy creatures of the deep. They rarely get spotted by researchers or fishermen, making it slightly difficult to study them. Thankfully, they move incredibly slowly compared to some of their relatives. So, scientists have had the chance to gather a rough estimate of their population.

How Many Are Left in the World? (Cont.)

As of 2023, researchers estimate that there are between 7,000 and 15,000 Greenland sharks left. This low population is likely because they were a favorite of hunters at the turn of the 20th century.

What Do Greenland Sharks Normally Eat?

Greenland sharks aren’t overly picky about their diet. They will consume nearly anything and everything they can find. Some of their favorite prey include squid, fish, seabirds, and seals. But they are not the best hunters that roam the ocean depths. Many scientists believe this shark species targets prey while the unsuspecting marine animals sleep. Additionally, it may feast on animals that are already dead.

What Do Greenland Sharks Normally Eat? (Cont.)

The smell of rotting flesh from other marine creatures of birds may draw the Greenland shark into a feast. However, these opportunistic feeders have also eaten reindeer, moose, and even polar bears! Researchers discovered these unusual mammals in the stomachs of Greenland sharks they dissected. 

Most Common Sharks in Florida

Of course, sharks live in the salty brine of the sea, it is their territory, and we are only intruding upon it. A study of 3,000 different sharks found on the coast of Florida showed that there are 15 separate species of sharks in Florida. 

The number and type of sharks found are as follows:

• 1,335 Nurse Sharks
• 650 Blacktip Sharks
• 314 Lemon Sharks
• 253 Bull Sharks
• 238 Great Hammerhead
• 210 Sandbar Sharks
• 178 Blacknose Sharks
• 100 Tiger

Most Common Sharks in Florida (Cont.)

Other sharks commonly found in Florida are:

• 67 Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks
• 22 Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks
• 13 Caribbean Reef Sharks
• 11 Bonnethead Sharks
• 5 Dusky Sharks
• 1 Spinner Shark
• 1 Great White.

Endangered and Extinct Animals in Greenland

Several of Greenland’s animal species are on the IUCN’s Red List and in danger of becoming extinct, including:

• Hooded seal — Vulnerable
• Reindeer — Vulnerable
• North Atlantic right whale — Critically Endangered
• Blue whale — Endangered
• Fin whale — Vulnerable
• Sperm whale — Vulnerable

Extinct Arctic animals, like the great auk, a prehistoric precursor to the penguin, and woolly mammoths once occupied Greenland.