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One of the largest white sharks in the world is a female named Unama’ki. The huge shark was tagged in Nova Scotia in September and is 15 feet five inches long, weighing in at 2076 pounds. The shark is the second largest great white ever tagged by Ocearch, a non-profit organization that tags and tracks large marine animals.
While Unama’ki is undoubtedly a huge shark, they can get even bigger. Researchers say some great whites have been found weighing up to 5,000 pounds and more than 20 feet in length. The research organization had previously discovered and tagged a 17-foot-long female great white shark that weighed 3,541 pounds. That shark was also discovered off the coast of Nova Scotia and was called Nukumi.
Unama’ki has traveled quite a bit since she was first tagged in September, recently pinging a satellite near Miami. The satellite tracker on the shark’s dorsal fin beeped at 5:46 am ET on November 5 off Key Largo, south of Miami. In order for the locator to ping the satellite, the shark’s dorsal fin had to break through the surface of the ocean.
As frightening and ferocious as great white sharks are, they are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is why they are tagged and closely monitored. Great whites are a major ocean predator and are critical to the ocean’s functional ecosystems.
Scientists following Unama’ki hope it will lead them to where she gives birth, revealing a previously unknown nursery of great white sharks. One challenge in tracking creatures is that they must break the surface for the locator to ping the satellite. Creatures don’t always spend time near the ocean’s surface, which means they can spend significant periods with their location unknown.
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