11-foot, 1,200-pound great white shark pings off coast of Florida ahead of spring break
(Daniel Botelho / Barcroft Media / Barcroft Media)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A massive great white shark pinged off the coast of Florida this week ahead of what is expected to be a very busy spring break at the beaches.
According to OCEARCH's Global Shark Tracker, great white shark Maple pinged on Monday morning southeast of St. George Island, Florida in the Gulf Of Mexico. Maple measures 11-feet, 7 inches long and weighs in at 1,264 pounds.
OCEARCH said "Over the past two seasons Maple has spent much of her winter in the Gulf of Mexico."
Maple was named after the maple leaf, one of Canada’s national emblems. The organization said Maple has a distinctive wound on the left side of her body, which the team believes is from an interaction with another larger white shark.
"It is not uncommon for sharks to show their dominance over a smaller animal of their species by delivering a significant but non-fatal bite."
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Meanwhile, great white shark Tancook pinged several miles east of Amelia Island on Tuesday just after 9:30 a.m. The shark measures 9-feet, 9-inches long and weighs in around 715 pounds!
Tancook – which means "facing the open sea" – was named after the OCEARCH team met him off West Ironbound Island just south of Tancook Island, where he was first tagged in 2021.
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"We’re looking forward to Tancook teaching us more about the open sea as we follow along with his movements!" OCEARCH said.
According to its website, OCEARCH is a "global non-profit organization conducting unprecedented research on our ocean's giants in order to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean."
"Our mission is to accelerate the ocean's return to balance and abundance through fearless innovations in critical scientific research, education, outreach, and policy using unique collaborations of individuals and organizations in the U.S. and abroad."