A fat great white shark? No, predator’s chubby appearance is something very different

An 11-foot shark being tracked off the East Coast is getting attention on social media for its figure, which appears to be on the pudgy side.

However, this is not a case of a great white shark over eating, being pregnant or swelling up after a boat strike, experts say.

“This male white shark ... shows signs of scoliosis, a curvature of the spine,” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy explained in a Facebook post.

“Other species of sharks, like sand tiger sharks, have also been seen with scoliosis as well,” the conservancy wrote. “Scientists are not exactly sure why it can occur.”

Scoliosis is a sideways spine curvature typically diagnosed in humans when they are adolescents, the Mayo Clinic reports. The cause in humans is also unknown, but evidence shows it can get worse with time.

Photos shared by the conservancy show the shark, named Cow, appears both swollen and crooked.

Sharks are known for being resilient, with an amazing ability to heal even severe injuries caused by attacks from other sharks or collisions with boat propellers.

However, scoliosis appears to be a condition they cannot overcome. Sharks with scoliosis have been reported around the world, including some that appear severely bent at the middle.

It’s not known how scoliosis impacts the life of white sharks, but it has not gotten in the way of Cow’s ability to eat or travel great distances. He was fitted with a tracker in 2020 and has “pinged” off satellites more than 7,200 times along the East Coast, records show.

Cow also sports a lot of facial scars, which are likely from battles with seals — a popular shark meal in New England waters.

This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 5:07 AM with the headline "A fat great white shark? No, predator’s chubby appearance is something very different."