14 DAY TRIAL // While we're desperately trying to shake off whatever visceral fat we've gained by indulging in one too many treats, great white sharks could not be happier to have their liver swimming in fat and oil.
This is not because they couldn't care less about their health, but because the fat and oil these predators store in their liver keeps them swimming for well over 2,500 miles (over 4,000 kilometers).
In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a team of Stanford University and Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers explain that, unlike sea lions and whales, sharks carry fat in their liver.
Besides using this energy resource to power themselves, sharks rely on liver fat and oil to stay buoyant.
“We have a glimpse now of how white sharks come in from nutrient-poor areas offshore, feed where elephant seal populations are expanding – much like going to an Outback Steakhouse – and store the energy in their livers so they can move offshore again.
“It helps us understand how important their near-shore habitats are as fueling stations for their entire life history,” researcher Barbara Block explains.