GREAT WHITE SHARK UNAMA'KI HEADING INTO THE OPEN OCEAN MAY BE SIGN 2,000LB PREDATOR IS PREGNANT

Newsweek ^ | Aristos Georgiou

[nickcarraway]

A 2,000-pound great white shark called Unama'ki appears to be heading away from the coastal waters of the United States and moving into the open ocean.

The shark was tagged with a monitoring device by marine research non-profit OCEARCH in September last year, and tracking data shows that the 15 foot, five-inch-long female is swimming eastwards. It is currently not clear why, but OCEARCH speculates that one of the reasons could be that the animal is pregnant.

"Very interesting! Take a look at @UnamakiShark's track. She is veering off into the open ocean. Could she be going out there to gestate? We've only really tracked large females making these pelagic journeys. We'll be watching her closely," OCEARCH wrote in a tweet.

This is not the first great white shark OCEARCH has tracked that has made a similar journey. But as a mature female, the course Unama'ki charts will be extremely valuable to researchers, the non-profit said. This is partly because she has the potential to lead scientists to a site where she may give birth, revealing a new great white shark nursery.

Since being tagged in the waters off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, Unama'ki has travelled more than 5,000 miles, moving southwards into the Gulf of Mexico, before leaving the region and heading towards the open ocean. Parts of this long journey have been particularly intriguing for the OCEARCH team.

She is veering off into the open ocean. Could she be going out there to gestate? We’ve only really tracked large females making these pelagic journeys. We’ll be watching her closely.

For example, toward the end of January, Unama'ki's tracker pinged in the far northeast of the Gulf of Mexico, an area where OCEARCH does not normally see these animals

[bagster]

If they're so smart, how come they didn't track the brave soul who knocked her up.

#SharkPron

#MatureAudiencesOnly

[nickcarraway]

Silly, that job is for child support enforcement not scientists.

[Bullish]

Newsweek? You’re visiting Newsweek?

Just cover them with dirt and walk away, they’re really stinking, ya’ know?

[Brooklyn Attitude]

Slut

[Still Thinking]

It’s so cool they named her after the flavor of MSG!

[Flick Lives]

[golux]

Informative new film about Great Whites including the long “walkabouts” we’re just learning about:

https://www.pbs.org/video/great-white-shark-new-perspectives-of-an-ancient-predator-zidgxv/

[Flavious_Maximus]

15 feet? She still has more growing to do. For a great white, that is a below average size.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

If they're so smart, how come they didn't track the brave soul who knocked her up.

Because they were gonna need a MUCH larger tracking device.

[nesnah]

[TMN78247]

FYI, a 15-foot/2000# female is a YOUNG shark. = This may be her first set of pups.
(The female of the species is generally MUCH larger than the males of the same age.)

I wonder what sort of monitoring device that she is tagged with & what its expected life is.

Yours, TMN78247

[_longranger81]

“Oh my God! They impregnated Kenny!”

[daniel1212]

She is veering off into the open ocean. Could she be going out there to gestate?

Of course not. Instead she is one of those "rebels" who refuse to practice social distancing and "shelter in sea coast" as well as take advantage of sexual reproduction services (to prevent or extinguish reproduction), and has therefore migrated to a state that gives her freedom. Experts suggest she may be infected with Covid-19 contracted from some fishermen who failed to practice saltwater distancing and have demanded that she be quarantined, regardless of the long-term effects to the ocean economy and lifestyle.