Meet Deep Blue: The Largest Great White Shark Ever Recorded

Jordan Claes
A Great White Shark swimming in the ocean.
Unsplash | Gerald Schömbs

Our planet is made up of about 70% water. The oceans are vast alien places and remain largely uncharted and undiscovered. This is precisely what makes them such terrifying places because the oceans are the epitome of the unknown.

That feeling of not knowing what lies beneath is what fills us with fright. And of all the ocean's creatures, none has made more of an impression on mankind than the Great White shark. So in order to shed a little light on the ocean's most efficient man-eating machine, let's meet Deep Blue — the largest Great White ever recorded.

Stories of Shark Attacks Have Both Thrilled and Captivated Minds for Centuries

The underside of a Great White shark swimming in the ocean.
Unsplash | Marcelo Cidrack

There's hardly a ghost story on earth that is as chilling as the tale of the S.S. Indianapolis or more harrowing than the New Jersey Shark Attacks of 1916. Sharks are the kings of their respective domain, with almost no natural predators to speak of whatsoever. They've evolved into the perfect killing machines and have become the subject of nightmares for generations, none more so than the fabled Great White shark.

Great White Sharks Are Easily Identified by Their Torpedo-Like Torso, White Underbelly, and by Their Mouthful of Razor-Sharp Teeth

A Great White shark breaching the water.
Unsplash | Alex Steyn

Great White sharks are absolutely massive and grow to an average length of 11 to 16 feet, weighing anywhere from 1000 to 1500 lbs. Their mouths contain multiple rows of serrated teeth, roughly 300 of them on average, and they can smell a single drop of blood in the water from more than a quarter mile away.

The Largest Great White Shark Ever Recorded Goes by the Name Deep Blue and She Was First Spotted Near Guadalupe in 2013

The sheer ferocity of Deep Blue, combined with the fact that she's always in motion, makes taking exact measurements difficult. That being said, scientists and researchers estimate that she's roughly 21 feet in length, eight feet high, and could weigh upwards of 4000 to 5000 pounds — a real-life Jaws if ever there was one.

Ironic As It May Sound, Great White Sharks Are Responsible for Very Few Human Fatalities

A cow nosing the camera.
Giphy | MeinMontafon

Food for thought: in 2021, there were 73 reports of unprovoked shark attacks, resulting in nine deaths worldwide. Cows, on the other hand, kill on average 22 people every single year. So the next time you're swimming in the ocean, wondering what may be circling beneath your feet, rest assured that it's probably nothing. However, watch out for those cows — they can be deadly.