sharks Archives

Steve Alten interview: Where is Megalodon hiding?

July 8, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Steve Alten is the author of the hugely popular Meg series. The fictional series starts when Navy deep-sea submersible pilot Jonas Taylor encounters a Carcharodon megalodon while exploring the infamous Mariana trench. He barely survives the encounter but then has to warn a sceptical world that the 70-foot shark is real.

The latest book in the series, Meg: Nightstalkers, deals with the nightmare scenario of escaped megalodons and other ancient monsters making their way free.

In Pure Spirit is really lucky. Steve’s made time to answer some of our Carcharodon megalodon questions. Buckle up and read on!

Q. Some folk like to hope that Carcharodon megalodon survives as a species. Why do you think that is? Isn’t a strange thing to hope for?

Not at all. Just as visitors would come to a Jurassic World, they’d love to witness the most vicious predator ever to have lived … albeit from a safe distance.

Q. Do you think the Mariana trench has any real surprises left for us?

It’s all new. This is a 40 mile wide, 1550 mile long unexplored realm. The latest exploration found hydrothermal vents (as I predicted 20 years ago) and an albino “ghost shark!”

Q. You must have been subjected to dozens of survival theories from fans since you started writing Meg. Which have been the most memorable ones?

I favor the rise of Orca as the most likely theory which resulted in the Megs disappearance. An orca is no match for a Meg, but killer whales hunt in pods, and a pack could easily kill a lone Meg. Orca hunt along shorelines and would have decimated Megalodon nurseries. The only escape for adults would have been to inhabit deeper waters where the whales could not access. Could Megalodon still be alive without us knowing it? Absolutely. We’ve only explored 5% of the oceans and less than 1% of the deep…

Q. How do you keep up with science and the real world mysteries of the deep oceans?

I research every novel thoroughly to flesh out the story. Plus I answer every email personally, which introduces me to experts far smarter than myself.

Q. Which other deep water stories are you tempted to explore?

The LOCH takes on Loch Ness, VOSTOK explores the subglacial lakes in Antarctica, and The OMEGA PROJECT takes us to our planet 12 million years in the future…so I’ve been tempted and went there! Check it out at www.SteveAlten.com.

World’s largest Great White shark caught on camera

February 9, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

The shark is known as Deep Blue she’s believed to about about 50 years old. How large is the world’s largest Great White shark? She’s at least 7 metres long. Wow.

Diver Michael Maier had previously released some footage of his encounter with Deep Blue but these clips contain new, not seen before, images.

In Pure Spirit

Would you go diving in the safety of a shark cage if you new a creature with the size and hunger of Deep Blue was around?

North Carolina beach complete with a shark feeding frenzy

January 10, 2015 by Andrew Leave a Comment

If you’re just walking along the sand, the breaking waves washing against your feet would you end up in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy?

You could.

This video shows the shore of a beach in North Carolina host more than 100 sharks. The sharks were caught in a feeding frenzy, chomping their way through a school of fish they had pushed into the shallows.

In Pure Spirit

True shark fans know all about the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and have all the goodies. Others are keen to avoid these impressive predators at all times. Where are you on the shark scale?

10 of the biggset animals to ever roam the planet

January 29, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

The largest flying insect ever: Meganeuropsis permiana
The largest arthropod ever: Arthropleura
The largest snake ever: Titanoboa
The largest land predator ever: Spinosarurus
The largest cartilaginous fish ever: Carcharodon megalodon
The largest bony fish ever: Leedsichthys problematicus
The largest land mammal ever: Paraceratherium
The largest flying organism ever: Quetzalcoatlus
The largest mammal ever: Blue Whale
The largest land animal ever: Amphicoelias fragillimus

In Pure Spirit

Are you impressed by the size of these creatures? How many of these did you know before watching the video?

New shark species found – and it walks!

September 1, 2013 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Scientists have found a new species of shark in eastern Indonesia. The shark is harmless to humans and grows up to 80cm in length, which is not large for a shark. However, the brown and white bamboo shark walks. The shark doesn’t haul itself out of the water but waddles over the rocks in at the sea bed in a way that might remind you of a lizard.

The sharks can be found off Maluku Islands west of Guinea. It’s a region of the oceans that are hugely diverse but still largely undiscovered.

In Pure Spirit

What do you feel about the discovery?

Isn’t amazing that we’re still discovering new animal species? Or do you disagree with the claims that this shark “walks” because it never leaves the sea.

Swimming dog encounters sharks

July 15, 2011 by Andrew Leave a Comment

This is a remarkable video. We have two dogs swimming back to shore. We have a small school of sharks between the dogs and the shore. It’s all being captured on video.

What do you think happens?