Ocean research group OCEARCH announced this week that Unama’ki, the largest great white shark tracked by the non-profit organization, had provided the group with new information about its breeding habits during its latest migration in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Wow look where white shark Unama’ki is! She has moved west of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico,” the nonprofit said in a tweet on February 24. “It’s the first time we’ve tracked a white shark to this area off the coast of Louisiana. Is this a whole new piece to the white shark puzzle?”
Wow look where white shark Unama’ki is! She has moved west of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the first time we’ve tracked a white shark to this area off the coast of Louisiana. Is this a whole new piece to the white shark puzzle? pic.twitter.com/fUz2WmrN1q
— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) February 24, 2020
The following day, the organization joked that Unama’ki was heading toward New Orleans to participate in Mardi Gras, noting that she had traveled farther west in the Gulf of Mexico than previously tracked white sharks.
Unama’ki, just one of the 11 sharks tracked by OCEARCH, was tagged by the research group off Scaterie Island, Nova Scotia, on September 20, 2019.
White shark Unama’ki is now up and pinging on our Tracker for everyone to follow! She was named by our partner @SeaWorld. Unama’ki is the indigenous Mi'kmaq name for the Cape Breton area and means “Land of the Fog.” Excited to see where she leads us! https://t.co/KLfYgygkY1 pic.twitter.com/Kvg6RayMoz
— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) September 30, 2019
Additional white sharks, such as Nova, a 1,200-pound male, and the 1,300-pound female Helena, are also being tracked by the group and can be viewed on the OCEARCH website’s active tracker.