Mysterious Greenland shark: Hunter or scavenger?
An injured ring seal escaping from a polar bear as a Greenland shark awaits.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzA female polar bear taking her cubs to the sea to search for food in the Canadian Arctic.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzTwo polar bear cubs playing in the Canadian Arctic.
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EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.Overview of the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which is the longest-lived vertebrate known, with a life span of 400 years or more.
Transcript
The Hudson Bay in northern Canada - an injured ringed seal has hauled out onto the ice. But itâs not safe here. The bear has picked up the scent of the weak animal and knows there is an easy meal to be had. Despite itâs severe wounds, the seal manages a get-away.
Deep below the ice, a strange and outlandish creature awaits the death of the seal. It moves slowly and sluggishly, attracted by the smell of fresh blood. Itâs over seven meters long and weighs more than a ton. Itâs a Greenland shark. This shark lives further north than any other, but few people have ever seen it. The remains of polar bears and reindeer have been found in its stomach, but no one knows if it hunts or scavenges on them. The alien-looking creature remains as mysterious to us as it looks.
A bizarre parasite has latched onto the sharkâs eye. Some say, it leads the shark to its prey, by lighting up the sea at night. But the Greenland shark has little need for sight - its acute sense of smell can detect a carcass many kilometers away. Slowly but steadily, the giant homes in on the dying seal.
Deep below the ice, a strange and outlandish creature awaits the death of the seal. It moves slowly and sluggishly, attracted by the smell of fresh blood. Itâs over seven meters long and weighs more than a ton. Itâs a Greenland shark. This shark lives further north than any other, but few people have ever seen it. The remains of polar bears and reindeer have been found in its stomach, but no one knows if it hunts or scavenges on them. The alien-looking creature remains as mysterious to us as it looks.
A bizarre parasite has latched onto the sharkâs eye. Some say, it leads the shark to its prey, by lighting up the sea at night. But the Greenland shark has little need for sight - its acute sense of smell can detect a carcass many kilometers away. Slowly but steadily, the giant homes in on the dying seal.