Featured Image: Oceana.org
Earlier this month, a seven foot mako shark named ‘Pico’ was tracked to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Although mako sharks are known to inhabit these waters, this shark was a surprise. The animal was first tagged off the coast of Texas in March 2018, thousands of miles from North Carolina.
According to OCEARCH, his tracker pinged off Cape Hatteras National Seashore on a Wednesday. The next day, he was located another 70 miles north of Hatteras near Kill Devil Hills.
In just 16 months, this shark has traveled 14,400 miles. Some days, the shark traveled up to 100 miles! According to OCEARCH, it is an exciting move. They rarely track mako sharks that move from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic. Surprisingly, this is the second time that this particular shark has left the Gulf of Mexico to head up the east coast. Last year, Pico made it to New York before he turned around to make the journey back.
Scientists are using this data to find out where these sharks are going and why. With a better understanding of their lives, we can better protect these amazing animals.