The most deadly predator of the sea spent its day conquering and terrorizing every creature in sight. This is the megalodon.
It lived millions of years ago, but let’s assume this monster shark was alive today. And instead of worrying about other creatures in the sea, this megalodon is now coming for you.
How would the megalodon hunt you down? How could your size be your best advantage? And could you survive this attack?
Megalodons are a force to be reckoned with. Estimates show that they grew up to 18 m (60 ft) long. This is three times longer than the largest great white shark ever recorded.
Not to mention that their jaw could open up to 3.5 m (11 ft) wide.
So, do you think you stand a chance with this beast? Well, let’s find out.
If you happen to find yourself swimming in the ocean, and a megalodon is lurking about, you might actually be okay. There’s a chance that since you’re so small, compared to its other prey, the megalodon wouldn’t think you’re worth eating. They’d instead go for the blue whale, or a pack of great white sharks for some real meat.
But just because you’re a puny human doesn’t mean you’d be safe from the megalodon. After all, the megalodon was so huge, and needed so much energy, that it would take any morsel of food it could get. It’s estimated that the megalodon ate nearly 1,200 kg (2,500 lb) of food every day.
But instead of having you swim in the middle of the ocean, let’s give you a chance by putting you on a boat. Even with this newly added equipment, you’d still run into some
issues.
Being on a boat would be much faster, but now you’d be much easier to spot. And the megalodon could now use its signature move. It hunted the majority of its prey by using sneak attacks from below. And now, with you on your boat, it would naturally be doing the same thing to you.
With it’s 34 metric ton body, it would ram your boat from underneath,flipping and destroying it. With your boat completely wrecked, you’d be in the water, with the megalodon now hungry for your blood. And speaking of which, if you happened to get a cut during this process, the megalodon would be able to spot you with its keen sense of smell. Just like sharks, when the megalodon smells blood, it aims to kill.
No amount of people, noise, or anything else threatening the megalodon would be able to stop its thirst for blood. At this point, your best bet would be to remain calm and start swimming to shore or another boat.
This is also an opportunity where your small size can be used to your advantage. Depending on which ocean you’re in, you could hide in between coral reefs, where the megalodon would be unable to reach you.
And if you made it to shallow waters, then your chances of survival would be even better. Since the megalodon was so massive, it wouldn’t be able to maneuver around the shallow waters, eventually forcing it to lose interest in you and retreat.
But realistically, if you were anywhere near this massive beast, you’d quickly become its food. I mean, come on, it’s the megalodon. This thing was one of the deadliest predators of all time.
Sources
- “Megalodon: the truth about the largest shark that ever lived”. Josh Davis 2020. nhm.ac.uk.
- “Giant ancient shark may have gone extinct due to extinction of its small prey”. Bob Yirka, 2020. phys.org.
- “Did the giant extinct shark carcharocles Megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru”. Collareta, Alberto, Olivier Lambert, Walter Landini, Claudio Di Celma, Elisa Malinverno, Rafael Varas-Malca, Mario Urbina, and Giovanni Bianucci. 2017. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 469: 84-91. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.01.001.
- “The Real Science Behind The Megalodon”. Katherine J. Wu. Smithsonian Magazine.
- “Megalodon: Facts About The Long-Gone, Giant Shark”. livescience.com.
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