Great white shark seen with 'SMILE' on its face is photographed off California coast

A longtime wildlife photographer has been able to capture rare pictures of a few great white sharks smiling near Santa Cruz County beaches. 

Eric Mailander, a professional marine lensman has photographed over 20 young great whites swimming near New Brighton State Beach with a GoPro. 

Last week, the photographer went out on a boat to an area nicknamed 'Shark Park' where this particular species appears annually. 

He attached his action camera to a pole and lowered it into the water to document the sharks’ dorsal fin identification numbers. 

But much to his surprise, the younglings were intrigued by the pole and swam towards it - allowing Mailander to capture the unique shots.

'We have all seen the aerial views of the dark shark shadows close to shore. 

'It looks like they are smiling. I wanted to show what they look like under the water,' he told KRON4. 

Mailander also used a drone camera to capture the young sharks' movement in the water. 

Talking about the footage, he said: ''I took this footage a few hours ago at Shark Park and it is amazing. I was filming this 7-foot white shark with my drone when all of a sudden a pup salmon shark [we think] popped up and this white shark had a go of it.

'Not sure of the outcome but the white shark resurfaces near the end of clip with no shark in its mouth.' 

Mailander has been helping scientists with the Monterey Bay Aquarium track populations off the coast of Central California when the one-of-a-kind occurrence happened. 

The release of these pictures comes months after pictures of the first sighting of a newborn great white shark had been revealed that captured a five-foot-long predator swimming of the coast of California.

The newborn great white shark was believed to be just hours old when scientists spotted it only 1,000 feet from the beach in Santa Barbara.

Researchers at the University of California - Riverside captured the amazing photograph, revealing the newborn was shedding its embryotic layer in January.

Where great white sharks give birth has always been a mystery as scientists have been unable to track their location, but on July 9, 2023, luck smiled on two filmmakers who were scanning the area for sharks.

'Where white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science,' said Wildlife filmmaker Carols Gauna, who took the photos alongside UC Riverside PhD student Phillip Sternes.

'No one has ever been able to pinpoint where they are born, nor has anyone seen a newborn baby shark alive.

'There have been dead white sharks found inside deceased pregnant mothers. But nothing like this.'

Gauna has observed the coast of Santa Barbara for years and has filmed likely pregnant great white sharks, but while the area is proposed as a possible birthing site, this is the first time there is evidence.