Shark #24 at great white hotspot named after Kobe Bryant

A great white shark was named after basketball legend Kobe Bryant after he passed away in a helicopter accident, since he reportedly had a fascination with the animals. A great white off the coast of Guadalupe Island, Mexico, was spotted in a regular gathering spot for the breed, Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute (MCSI) said, according to CNN. Bryant discovered a love for sharks while living in Italy as a child, numerous sources report. He additionally told The Players' Tribune that he was inspired by sharks when designing some of his Nike shoes. The MCSI keeps a photo database of sharks in which each shark is named by the first photographer who managed to capture a full-body photo of them from either side. One of the most suitable identifiers of the newcomer to the shark hotspot was that he was number 24 in the database – one of Bryant's jersey numbers with the Lakers. View this post on Instagram We've reallocated shark #24 in our Guadalupe Island White Shark Photo-ID database. In honor and memory of Kobe Bryant, we've inserted a brand new shark into the #24 spot and named it “Kobe Bryant!” @marinecsiorg #greatwhiteshark #greatwhite #whiteshark A post shared by Dr. Michael Domeier (@doc_domeier) on Feb 5, 2020 at 11:59am PST The particular photographer who managed to capture number 24's photo was Martin Graf, who, in 2013, took Bryant in a shark cage to have a close look in his facility called Shark Diver. The director of communications for Shark Diver, Cindy Michaels, told CNN that Bryant came on a private yacht and spent a large portion of that same day with the diving group. She explained that although Shark Diver was not in contact with Bryant's close friends and family as of yet, she would love them to know that the shark community 'appreciated him.' 'Our hearts go out to everyone involved and the families and friends and we just, we want to make it special for them and for the shark community and those who are his fellow divers,' Michaels told CNN. 'I think it's just kind of a cool thing to do for him.'

Shark #24 at great white hotspot named after Kobe Bryant

A great white off the coast of Guadalupe Island was spotted in a regular gathering spot for the breed and, as he was recorded as #24 in the MCSI database, was named after the basketball legend.

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Shark #24 at great white hotspot named after Kobe Bryant

A great white off the coast of Guadalupe Island was spotted in a regular gathering spot for the breed and, as he was recorded as #24 in the MCSI database, was named after the basketball legend.

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