The ocean’s most infamous predator, the great white shark, isn’t always the flawless hunter we picture. While its power and reputation are legendary, these 10 great white specimens each suffered a spectacular setback—whether from human interference, strange prey, or outright misfortune. Dive in for a roller‑coaster of sharky mishaps that prove even apex predators have off days.
10 Great White Sharks: A Tale of Unlucky Encounters
10 Mother Of 14
In early 2019 a massive, pregnant great white was hauled in near Taiwan under dubious circumstances. Fishermen claimed it was an accident, yet the specimen fetched a hefty $2,000 at a local market, where a taxidermist bought the carcass. While the shark was being dissected, the butcher uncovered an astonishing fourteen pups nestled within her two wombs—a record‑setting number for the species.
The mother, a striking 4.7‑meter (15‑foot) individual, was on the brink of giving birth when captured. Great whites are listed as vulnerable, so losing a gravid female is a significant blow to the population. Nonetheless, the rarity of a pregnant great white made the catch invaluable for researchers, providing photos and tissue samples that shed light on embryonic development and the pups’ diet of unfertilized eggs.
Scientists hailed the find as a bittersweet triumph: while the loss of such a prime breeding animal hurts conservation, the data harvested from the mother and her fourteen offspring offers a rare glimpse into the early life of these apex predators.
9 The Failed Hunt
Back in 2015 a juvenile great white on Cape Cod saw a seagull perched on the sand and lunged for an impromptu snack. The ambitious attack backfired spectacularly, sending the two‑meter (6.6‑foot) shark scrambling onto a shallow puddle and beaching itself.
Onlookers watched in shock as volunteers doused the distressed shark with buckets of seawater, essentially performing a makeshift CPR. Though the shark continued to ventilate through its gills, its survival window was narrow. Fortunately, a harbor master arrived in time to hoist the animal back into deeper water.
A nearby marine biologist quickly fitted the rescued shark with a tracking tag before releasing it. While the seagull dinner was missed, the shark’s brush with death turned into a valuable research opportunity, thanks to the swift community rescue effort.
8 Mysterious Infection
Seasonal strandings are common, but a sudden surge in shark deaths prompted pathologist Mark Okihiro to investigate. He discovered that many of the victims, including a great white near Santa Cruz in 2017, suffered fatal brain hemorrhages caused by an unusual infection.
Initial tests suggested meningitis‑type bacteria, yet no Carnobacterium was present in the white shark. Instead, a pervasive fungus was later identified as the killer, responsible for hundreds of deaths across multiple species in San Francisco Bay.
The exact nature of this fungal pathogen remains a mystery, but its impact on shark mortality highlights a previously unknown threat lurking beneath the waves.
7 Fatal Exhibition
In 2016 the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, bowing to visitor demand, attempted to house a great white captured near Japan’s southwest coast. Great whites are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity; they require constant swimming to oxygenate their blood and regulate temperature.
The aquarium proudly announced the 3.5‑meter (11.5‑foot) male’s survival, but just three days later the shark had died, having refused all food since its capture. It later collapsed to the tank’s bottom, and staff attempted oxygen resuscitation, to no avail.
While officials pledged a thorough investigation, animal‑rights activists argued that the stress of capture and confinement sealed the shark’s fate, underscoring the challenges of displaying such a demanding species.
6 The Turtle Incident
In 2019 Japanese tuna fisherman Greg Vella heard fellow crew members joke about a shark that had a giant turtle stuck in its jaws. The next day the story proved true when a massive great white was hauled aboard with a large sea turtle lodged inside its mouth.
The shark had died, apparently choking on the cumbersome prey. While it’s possible the shark was already ill and regurgitated the turtle, the incident remains a rare glimpse into a predator attempting an unlikely meal.
Sea turtles are adept survivors, and most sharks steer clear of their armored shells. This extraordinary encounter serves as a reminder that even the fiercest hunters can be outmatched by an unexpected bite.
5 A Shark Called Fluffy
September 2017 saw a 1.8‑meter (5.9‑foot) great white stranded on the rocks at Manly Beach, Sydney. Staff from Manly Sea Life Sanctuary rescued the shark and transferred it to a nearby ocean pool for recovery.
During the rescue, the sanctuary’s life‑science manager jokingly christened the shark “Fluffy” for the children watching, and the nickname stuck. After a brief rest in the pool, divers monitored Fluffy throughout the night to ensure he didn’t injure himself.
The following day the shark enjoyed a short boat ride back to deeper waters, reducing the chance of another stranding. Fluffy’s brief adventure highlights how quick human intervention can give a wayward predator a second chance.
4 The Boat Breach
In 2017 Australian angler Terry Selwood set out for snapper when a 3‑meter (9‑foot) great white vaulted onto his vessel, its fin scraping Selwood’s arm and tearing a strip of skin. The shark, caught mid‑leap, became wedged against the boat and eventually died.
Rescue crews used a forklift to extract the exhausted predator after Selwood was air‑lifted to safety. Experts clarified that such breaches are typically provoked by filmmakers dragging bait, not genuine attacks.
Selwood insisted no surface fish were present, suggesting the shark may have been chasing bait or reacting to an unknown stimulus. Without a necropsy, the exact cause of the leap remains speculative.
3 Orcas Snack On Them
Great whites dominate the ocean’s food chain, but killer whales love a shark liver snack. In 2017, three great whites washed ashore on South African beaches within four days, each missing its liver.
Later necropsies revealed a fourth shark had been stripped of its liver, stomach, and testes— a 4‑meter (13‑foot) male. While no one witnessed the attacks, the pattern of evisceration strongly points to orca predation.
Orcas target the liver for its massive fat reserves, an energy‑dense feast. This behavior, recorded off Australia and San Francisco, underscores that even apex sharks can become a delicacy for larger predators.
2 The Australian Disappearance
A female great white tagged in 2003 off southwestern Australia vanished, only for her tag to wash up on a beach in 2014, four kilometers from its original location. Data revealed a sudden, deep plunge to 580 meters (1,903 feet) accompanied by a temperature spike from 8 °C to 26 °C.
The abrupt temperature jump likely reflected the warm interior of a predator’s stomach—most plausibly an orca—rather than ambient seawater, suggesting the shark was swallowed whole.
While cannibalistic great whites are a theoretical possibility, the only known marine animal capable of such a feat is the killer whale, whose stomach temperature aligns with the recorded data.
1 Beer Can Beach Shooting
In 2018 a 2.7‑meter (9‑foot) great white washed ashore on California’s Beer Can Beach, seemingly uninjured at first glance. A necropsy by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife uncovered .22‑caliber bullets lodged within the shark, one of which severed its spinal cord.
Because hunting a great white requires a special permit, the discovery sparked a criminal investigation. An anonymous tip led authorities to fisherman Vinh Pham, whose boat was inspected and found with multiple violations and the firearm used in the shooting.
Pham eventually confessed, explaining he fired because the shark lingered too close to his nets. He was convicted in 2019, fined $5,000, and placed on two‑year probation for the illegal killing of a vulnerable species.