Mystery Beneath: The White Shark Café

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, halfway between California and Hawaii, lies a mysterious and seemingly barren stretch of sea known as the White Shark Café. Since the early 2000s, researchers have discovered that most Pacific great white sharks-despite being solitary by nature-abandon the California coast each year to spend months in this remote area. While 20% of tracked sharks head toward Hawaiian waters, an overwhelming 80% converge in this curious patch of ocean, engaging in repetitive deep dives up to 500 meters every few minutes, for reasons that remain unknown.

Theories about this unusual behavior primarily focus on two possibilities: mating or feeding. Mating is an obvious contender due to the sheer number of sharks gathering, yet the wide variation in age and maturity, including juveniles, complicates that hypothesis. Feeding, another standard motivator in animal migrations, is challenged by the fact that this region is considered an oceanic "desert" with little prey. A fringe theory proposes that deep-sea creatures like giant squid may be a hidden draw, potentially explaining the sharks' strange diving patterns, though evidence for this is still lacking.

The regular, determined pilgrimage to such an unremarkable place continues to puzzle scientists and its true meaning remains as elusive as the predators that vanish into its depths.

Previous Fact Next Fact