Curious public tracks great white shark off US coast

A 4.3-metre shark, nicknamed Katharine, being tracked along the eastern US is drawing wide public interest.

great_white_shark_us_ocearch.jpg

Great white shark 'Katherine'. (Photo: Ocearch)

An enormous great white shark swimming along the eastern US coastline is arousing more curiosity than fear as scientists and the public follow her every observable move.

The 4.3-metre shark, nicknamed Katharine, surfaced near Key Largo, Florida Monday night, announcing her presence with a ping from a tracking device placed on her dorsal fin last year.

Weighing one tonne, Katharine is being followed by the website Ocearch, which is run by a group that tracks a number of sharks to learn more about their habits.

Researchers
follow Katharine's migratory movements with the help of the tracking device Ocearch attached to her in August 2013, which pings the researchers whenever it comes to the surface.

In the past month, Katharine has appeared off the coast of Georgia and then swam south to Florida, coming within a few kilometres of Miami Beach on Saturday, according to the website.

Although the website is updated every half hour, Katharine doesn't surface nearly so often.

With almost 4000 Twitter followers, the great white's @Shark_Katharine account, managed by Ocearch, is dedicated to answering questions about the life of sharks and debunking myths.

Tagging their posts #GoKatGo, followers have cheered on the great white as "Katharine" weighs in on subjects like eating humans.

"What makes anyone think we'd really want to eat them #notmyflavor", she tweeted Tuesday.
Through Katharine's movements, scientists hope to gain much more information than just her whereabouts.


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2 min read

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Source: AAP, AFP



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