A massive great white shark, dubbed the Contender, has been spotted lurking towards a popular tourist hotspot in the US. The beast is one of the largest of its types ever found in the Atlantic Ocean
The biggest great white shark ever found in the Atlantic Ocean has been spotted heading to a tourist destination popular among Americans, only months after it vanished in the depths.
The 14ft shark weighing a massive 1700lbs – more than 770kg – completely disappeared from researchers’ trackers after it submerged itself deep underwater back in April. The apex predator, named Contender by scientists, was tagged and tracked back in January by shark expert research group OCEARCH.
The research group, which studies the massive beasts, said it believes the shark is heading north to Cape Cod and then to the eastern coast of Canada.
Experts believe the Contender is following normal migratory pattern based on pre-existing research on sharks’ behaviours. A spokesperson for OCEARCH said: “White sharks in the western North Atlantic typically migrate north and spend the summer and early fall foraging in the waters of Cape Cod or Atlantic Canada.
“These two regions offer comfortable water temperatures and an abundant food supply, in particular abundant seals and large fish species.”
Researchers have been tracking the shark while it prowls up and down the north American coastline as the shark’s location is detectable when the animal’s fin emerges above the water.
OCEARCH said: “The Z-ping is a weak non-locational ping. It typically occurs when the shark’s fin-mounted tag is briefly at the surface and just one single message is received by an overhead Argos satellite. Normally three or more messages are needed during a single satellite pass to calculate a reliable location.
“As Shark Tracker shows, we received a non-locational Z-ping from Contender on July 7. The last actual location for Contender was on April 23 when he was off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.”
But, due to the weak satellite signal, researchers have been unable to pinpoint its exact location. Since the animal was first tagged it has travelled 7,000 miles between Florida and the Gulf of St Lawrence off Canada. While Contender was tagged terrifying pictures were captured of the animals deep black eyes, staggering size and fierce jaws.
The development comes after climate change experts have warned great white sharks and jellyfish could be popping up in British waters in the future. Climate change may see wildlife move to find better conditions, possibly leading to massive changes in the seaside experience.
Jim Dale, an oceanographer and founder of British Weather Services, told the Daily Mirror: “We’re bound to see species die, and species pop up that ordinarily weren’t there before.”