The terrifying ‘shark cafe’ where Great Whites meet for lunch

Few creatures inspire terror like the Great White shark. They’re incredibly fast, strong, capable of hunting you down from miles away, and their teeth can cut you to ribbons at a minimum.

Worst of all is how helpless you would be if one were to attack you. While you have a couple of options to scare it off with a well-placed punch, the chances are it will get you before you get it.

Browsing the buffet (Lou Metzger / 500px/Getty Images)

If you’re in the water and you spot that fin, then duck underwater to spot the cold black eyes, the joyless smile with its dozens of razor-sharp teeth… well, it’s a good time to find religion, put it that way.

The only thing more terrifying that being in the water with a Great White would be finding yourself in the water with several of them, and if that’s something you’re into then it turns out there’s a particular spot to visit.

While it isn’t understood why this happens, there’s a place in the Pacific Ocean where Great Whites habitually meet up and hang out. It’s a huge area, with a radius of around 160 miles, and it’s found between Hawaii and Baja California.

With sharks travelling great distances to visit the spot, it’s been dubbed the ‘White Shark Cafe’ by researchers seeking to unravel the location’s mysteries.

It was first given the moniker back in 2002 after researchers from Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station noticed tagged sharks congregating in the (admittedly enormous) spot.

What’s curious about the behaviour is that the cafe looked empty. Until 2018, it was believed to be a pretty much lifeless zone, short on the shark coffees and toasted sandwiches you’d expect of a cafe.

However, by 2018 it was understood that the area is actually a thriving ecosystem, meaning sharks may well be heading there for seafood platters.

It may also be the site of some kind of shark mating ritual. If you think you’ve come across some absolute weapons on the dating apps, spare a thought for the female sharks heading to the White Shark Cafe knowing Gruesome Gary and his mouthful of knives will be there and keen to chirpse.

Redditors, naturally, have their own takes on what’s going on here.

Are these fish blind or something? Get out of there! (Taken by Andrew Thirlwell/Getty Images)

“These sharks are probably attracted to the unusually high frequency hum being emitted by the crashed UFO on the seabed at this location,” said one theorist.

“So they’re just all out there chilling together and s***?” asked another. “Like are sharks pals when they see each other, or do they fight?”

Perhaps they’re getting together to work on Sharknado scripts.