A great white shark has been tracked swimming off the New Jersey coast.
Penny, who measures 10 foot, 3 inches and weighs 522 pounds, was tracked swimming near Ocean City on May 29.
Although the shark’s exact location is not certain, she appears to be lurking close to shore.
Penny was tracked by ocean research organization OCEARCH, which aims to learn more about the behavior of great whites. The organization tags sharks so that it can track their whereabouts.
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Scientists still have much to learn about the elusive species, but one thing they do know is that Atlantic great white sharks tend to spend winters in the south, before migrating along the East Coast to Canada.
However, great whites are solitary and do not travel together. This means that occasionally they may stray from this migration route.
Penny was first tagged in April this year off Ocracoke, North Carolina. From there, she swam north until she reached New Jersey.
Although the shark appears to be close to land, great white sharks generally do not pose much danger to humans. They often lurk in shallow waters but do not target humans.
However there can be danger when humans encounter a shark that is hunting. Sometimes they mistake a human silhouette for something it would eat. More often than not, a shark will take a closer look but leave once they realize the person is not their usual prey.
OCEARCH keeps track of many sharks they migrate north and south.
Recently, several great white sharks have been spotted off the coast of the Carolinas. On May 18, a particularly large shark named Ironbound—who weighs 1,189 pounds—was tracked swimming off the coast of South Carolina. A few days later, on May 23, two other sharks were tracked off the Carolinas. One a huge shark named Breton, weighs 1,437 pounds and measures 13 feet 3 inches.
At this time of year, it is not uncommon for great whites to be off the coast of the Carolinas.
Scientists believe the sharks go there for their breeding season every spring, although the mating habits of the species remain something of a mystery. One of OCEARCH’s main aims is to learn more about this.
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