Fifty years after Jaws turned a generation of beachgoers into shark-fearing land-lubbers, Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week spectacular is back to stoke America’s favorite obsession—and this time, Godzilla has some serious aquatic competition.
Meet “Sharkzilla,” a monstrous 12-foot mako shark lurking in the waters off Long Island, New York, leaving a terrifying trail of sea life carnage in her wake.
The oversized apex predator first raised major alarm bells among researchers after mauled marine life began washing ashore along the Empire State’s coastline. Take a sneak peek at the beast below, in a preview of the Shark Week episode.
The beast left behind a staggering 24-inch bite mark taken out of a humpback whale and a massive 22-inch chunk ripped directly out of a grey seal. Naturally, when a shark starts treating giant humpback whales like casual afternoon snacks, scientists begin searching for extraordinary explanations.
Enter marine biologist Dr. Craig O’Connell, host of the viral Shark Week special Sharkzilla Takes New York. While investigating an old nuclear waste dumping, O’Connell initially posited that decades-old leaking radioactive waste barrels might have mutated the creature into a genetically enhanced super-predator:
“In the late 1960s, they dumped 15,000 barrels of nuclear waste in the Hudson Canyon,” O’Connell said. “Ten years later, they went out to check on these barrels, and they were all leaking.”
He added: “If animals are subjected to nuclear waste, this could cause genetic mutations and abnormal growth. If this predator is genetically altered, it could be faster, stronger and deadlier than any predator on Earth. We are calling it Sharkzilla.”
Related: 8-Foot Shark Manhandled in Los Angeles, Fisherman Drags It Back into Ocean (Video)
While nuclear radiation transforming makos sounds like a plot straight out of a campy 1950s creature feature, O’Connell’s research team eventually deployed baited underwater cameras to obtain the shark’s DNA. The results revealed a far more natural—yet equally formidable—explanation.
Sharkzilla was not a glowing radioactive mutant, but rather an extraordinarily massive, hyper-protective, pregnant mother mako shark furiously hunting to feed herself and defend her offspring.
Still, whether fueled by maternal instinct or B-movie radioactive hype, the sensational tale of Sharkzilla proves that five decades after Jaws hit theaters, our fascination with giant ocean monsters remains as hungry as ever. Just when you thought it was safe to wade off Long Island, Shark Week proves nature—and clever television—can still deliver fear.
Friendly reminder, however, you have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning, fatally trapped in a tanning bed, of fall to your death from a ladder – statistically speaking – than you do for being eaten alive by a shark. Food, pun intended, for thought.
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