It is this one beast that has come to be known as 'The Black Demon', that has locals scared, for it is thought this creature has a taste for human flesh.
The Black Demon of the Sea of Cortez
The reality, however, could not be more different, as humans are not the preferred prey for these creatures. It is thought that sharks actually do not like the taste of humans, and attack only when their senses are impaired, perhaps mistaking surfers or swimmers as seals.
However, a creature similar to the great white, but far exceeding its known size and weight, has been reported by residents of the Sea of Cortez for years. The area situated between the mainland of Mexico and the Baja Cailfornia Peninsula, is home to some of the world's strangest and diverse range of underwater species of creatures. There is one beast that has come to be known as 'The Black Demon', that has locals scared for it is thought this creature could be a man-eater and may have a taste for human flesh.
Sightings of this creature are rare, and no physical evidence has been found to prove the creatures existence.
There are many who suspect the creature does indeed exist and suspect it may be a relic from the past - a shark closely related perhaps to the Great White, and said to have been extinct for 1.5 million years.
The creature, called the Megalodon, is thought to have been a "nasty, intelligent predator" the size of an 18 wheeler truck that closely resembled great whites. The only evidence the creature ever existed are fossils found from all over the world, mainly of its teeth, which are four times the size of a great whites, and although no complete skeletons have been formed from fossils, zoologists have argued for years over the size and appearance of this creature.
What is generally considered fact is these creatures not only grew to at least 45-70 feet in length, it was also one of, if not the largest and most powerful predators in verterbrate history, with many thinking it was a stockier version of the Great White.
Many regard stories of the Black Demon as fanciful, and attribute most of the reports to sightings of whale sharks - a creature known to be larger than great whites, the largest recorded to be 46 feet long and weighing at least 20 metric tonnes. There are unconfirmed reports of larger whale sharks, however some have trouble attributing the "Demon" with these sharks, as for one, the aggressive behaviour shown by the creature is unlike a whale shark who are considered "docile" creatures, known to only feed on small vertebrates as krill and plankton.
Many also posit the possibility that it may be a yet unknown species of shark, maybe a hybrid species.
There are many that also think the creature may be a shark, or number of sharks, that may be the result/s of genetically engineering fish species by scientists at secret under-sea labs akin to the Mako sharks that terrorized movie goers in the 1999 science fiction horror film 'Deep Blue Sea'. There is no evidence to suggest this, and it is more likely that if The Black Demon does exist, it may be an abnormally sized and strange looking Great White.
Could humans fear of sharks actually stem from a collective memory from our ancestors, maybe those who lived near the ocean, of these giant sharks?
And if so, could that same creature be alive and well, thought extinct, and being seen off of Mexico?