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Megalodon Kicks Off Shark Week, But Could 67-Foot Shark Really Exist Today?

Could Megalodon Exist Today

Megalodon kicked off Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week marathon, but questions remain over whether or not the 67-foot-long shark could actually exist today.

Along with Air Jaws, Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives aired on Sunday night, but viewers are now wondering if the believed-extinct shark could be living in the deep waters off the coast of Africa.

The ancient species of shark is thought to have lived about 28 to 1.5 million years ago, reports Yahoo! TV. But the film offers a glimpse of what could be happening if the shark still existed.

While it’s not impossible to think a giant shark capable of eating a bus is responsible for several attacks off of the coast of South Africa, there is no photographic evidence the monsters still exist.

So, the short answer to the question of megalodon’s continued existence is simple — no. But nature has a way of surprising us with creatures once thought to be extinct being rediscovered.

And it’s only been 10 years since we first photographed a deep-sea giant squid. There are several creatures in the deep blue ocean that have yet to be discovered by marine biologists, who sometimes call the wide expanses of water the last unexplored territory on Earth.

The Examiner adds that Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives features a team of researchers off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, who are searching for the massive shark.

While Great Whites are very common in the area, a shark more than twice its length has yet to be found. And, disappointingly for some, there are no clues that the monster shark still lives today.

Despite the hopes from some that megalodon could be exploring the greatest depths of the ocean, it is not likely. For one, shark attacks in South Africa usually bear the markings of a Great White, rather than a monster twice its size. While hopefuls could use the example of the giant squid, there has been circumstantial evidence that it existed for years before the photo was taken.

But while the short answer of megalodon’s existence is “no,” the true answer should really be, “We don’t know.” Until marine biologists search the depths of the ocean, it is entirely possible to theorize the monster could still roam.

Do you think megalodon still exists?

[Image via ShutterStock]

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22 Responses to “Megalodon Kicks Off Shark Week, But Could 67-Foot Shark Really Exist Today?”

  1. Melanie Jackson

    So I'm confused…these events did or did not happen? The capsized boat, the half eaten whale, the video of the coast of chili, the WW II pictures…fact or fiction?

  2. Joseph Downer

    These are all FACT. I truly believe that this Animal is still out there. Only 5% of the ocean has actually been discovered.

  3. Rondle N Ellisa Tanner

    7% has been explored while the other 93% hasent I beleave that this mammal still exist in today's modern time only the fact of the pictures of history an stories usually come with a view of something or any view that might be crazy an people would never beleave it but I think its true we Wilmington find out sooner or later the more we explore the more we will know

  4. Tim Surber

    This was fake. If you search the capsized fishing boat nothing comed up. Not even the "official gov report" of it. And the wreck of that boat was either cgi or done in a pool, deep water is not that green with light. Disovery is now on the same level as the kardashians or honey boo boo.

  5. MiRanda Cummings

    In the last 15 mins of the show, the "scientists" boat gets bumped and all the lights flicker, then the two that were in the cage are no longer in the cage and it's just gone. It looks super scary… but then when you watch the "Shark After Dark" show right after it, the guy that was in the cage STILL says that Megalodon is extinct and that that's not what happened to him in the water….

  6. Darryl Bernard

    I tuned in hoping to see a documentary and instead I get a poor movie. As for the Megalodon itself, I've always believed they still existed. Some of the reasons scientists give for reasons why it doesn't exist seem rather pathetic to me. So we never found a whale carcass that had been hit by a meg. How often do whale carcasses actually wash ashore? And we are dealing with a shark that is bigger than the whales it hunts…how much is going to be left after an attack and feeding any way?

  7. Bert Ryan

    so the whole show was fiction…what was the point. right..phony fake shit…

  8. Sheryl Haynes

    so funny, your brother was saying the exact same thing at about the exact same time as your post. you two think alike

  9. Rick Haynes

    i know,,it took me about a half hour before i started to google the people an the sucken boat…ill never watch dicovery channel again..history channel is the only real channel on tv

  10. Bert Ryan

    sharknado and blair witch was more believeable than this movie..

  11. Bill Neal

    Not quite the same. The facts they gave during the show are reality and not made for the show. If you Google the whale that they referenced in Hawaii and the date if January 09 it shows not only the story but actual pictures.

  12. Chris Quale

    At the end of the program, there was a bunch of super small text at the bottom of the screen that went by the screen super quickly. Im pretty sure it was saying that it was not true. Coincidentally, the text shows up right where the DVR pause menu is so you can't actually read any of it. Bunch of crap, if you ask me.

  13. Jessi Invincible Foster

    I could lift you up I could show you what you want to see and take you where you want to be You could be my luck even if the sky is falling down I know that we'll be safe and sound, safe and sound.