Researchers believe they made contact with an immensely impressive great white shark this week, a well-known fixture in the oceanic community: Deep Blue. Do you know her? At 50 years old or maybe more, Deep Blue achieved viral fame in 2015, after rattling the cage of scientists who just wanted to take another look at her — probably to confirm her extreme size. Deep Blue measures roughly 20 feet long, which is five to six feet longer than the average for her species. (Female great whites tend to outstrip males in terms of length, isn’t that cool?) Yes, she is a pretty, pretty good shark, and she might have very important news to share.
On Tuesday, marine biologist Ocean Ramsey enjoyed the relatively rare opportunity to take a swim with this majestic sea queen during a dive off the coast of Oahu. Deep Blue (or, a shark bearing an uncanny resemblance to Deep Blue; Ramsey is still waiting on confirmation) approached her team, apparently lured by a sperm whale carcass floating nearby. Our beautiful behemoth allowed Ramsey a single pet before she swam away, “escorted by two rough-toothed dolphins” who “danced” at her side, per Ramsey’s Instagram post. Deep Blue then bumped into the team’s boat, which Ramsey interpreted as the desire for little back scratch and not an attempt to chum the waters with a boatful of scientists, as Hollywood would have us believe.
Anyway, Ramsey estimates Deep Blue’s current girth at 8 feet across, and told the Today Show that this “breathtaking,” “heart-melting” creature must either be pregnant or “very full” to be so big. Perhaps there’s a Baby Blue swimming between her two uteri (yep), or perhaps she just wolfed an especially hefty seal snack: “Either way,” Ramsey said, “she’s a big healthy individual.” And either way, congrats!