Stunning photo of Great White Shark ‘Mrs Moo’ in Southern Ocean by researcher Andrew Fox
HEAD thrown back, gills clamped down tight, Mrs Moo aims her 5.2m frame at the surface of the Southern Ocean off the coast of the Neptune Islands.
HEAD thrown back, gills clamped down tight, Mrs Moo aims her 5.2m frame at the surface of the Southern Ocean off the coast of the Neptune Islands.
This incredible image, captured by photographer and researcher Andrew Fox, clearly demonstrates the incredible power of these apex oceanic predators.
Thought to be between 20 and 25 years old, the mature female great white has been a regular visitor to South Australia over the years and – like most women in their prime – she has little time for the antics of younger males.
“She doesn’t want to mix it up with the riff-raff, the young males charging around looking for fur seals to eat,” Fox, the son of famous SA shark bite survivor Rodney, said.
“Big females like her do their own thing. The young males, they’re a bit like fighter jets – they can get in closer to the rocks and get those fur seals.”
The crew on Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions use a number of techniques to identify individual great whites, including scars, damaged dorsal fins and the unique patterns that form on the countershading line which runs along the animal’s body. Mrs Moo, however, is quite distinct.
“She has a white patch behind her eye and this big, muscular jaw – she’s unique,” Fox said.
It’s been a tricky year for Fox Expeditions and other charter operations operating out of Port Lincoln, with low shark numbers and rough weather making life difficult.
“Winter used to be our best time, but there just haven’t been many sharks around this year at all,” Fox said.
“Throw in huge swells and winds of up to 133km/h and it makes things pretty challenging.”