Would you ever consider capturing a 2,000-pound great white shark, conducting experiments with it and and releasing it back into the wild? That's what Ocearch scientist did, thrice. Mary Lee, Genie and now Lydia are all female great whites that have been tagged and tracked by Ocearch.
The research group caught Lydia Sunday near Jacksonville, Fla. Before gaining control, the 2,000-pound 14.5 foot long killer dragged the scientists and their boat in reverse after chomping down on the chum, which is a bloody mix of various fish guts used to attract sharks in the open water. Once the scientists had the shark secure, they tagged a GPS device to her fin, took several blood tests and ran an ultrasound that denied any hopes of pregnancy before releasing her back to the ocean, according to Huffington Post.
The non-profit Ocearch group tagged 16-foot, 3,500-pound Mary Lee and 14-foot, 2,300 pound Genie last September off the coast of Cape Cod. Scientists hope to gain insight into white shark migration patterns along the east coast to help protect their breeding grounds through their research.
Despite the great white's terrifying reputation, Ocearch is concerned with the species' declining population. The great white is currently listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is concerning since the shark is imperative to maintaining the health of marine ecosystems as the ocean's top predator, according to the Endangered Species Coalition. Unfortunately, sharks are killed every day, and through their research, Ocearch hopes to affect policy for global change.
For those interested, Ocearch keeps a life stream on its website of all its tagged sharks. But beware, some of the GPS signals come alarmingly close to shore. Perhaps someone afraid of the deadly killers could take refuge in knowing their current location, but if they swim too close to home, they may think twice before jumping in the water.
Beach season is right around the corner, and now you can see if the sharks are too. Try it out here.
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