Big news on the great white shark front today involving the young shark we've had on exhibit at the aquarium and publication of major findings about the lives of adult great white sharks off the California coast.
First, the bittersweet: We returned our fifth young shark to the wild this morning, a little over two months after we placed her in the Outer Bay exhibit. She was swimming and feeding well, grew a couple of inches and nearly 20 pounds during her stay (to 5-foot-5 and 100 pounds at release), and inspired nearly a third of a million visitors to know more -- and care more -- about the fate of white sharks in the wild.
But a few incidents of aggressive behavior over Halloween weekend involving other sharks in the exhibit prompted our Husbandry team to make the call: It was time for her to go home. (She got a small bite from an unknown exhibit-mate on Saturday, and a day later was seen chasing scalloped hammerheads and biting a Galapagos shark.)
“I’ve always said that these animals will tell us when it’s time to put them back in the ocean. Now was clearly the time,” said Randy Hamilton, our vice president of husbandry. “Her health is excellent, and we learned a lot while she was with us. Based on past experience, we have every expectation that she’ll do well after release.”
We'll track her movements in the wild with two electronic tags. One will deliver real-time data on her location to researchers in the lab. The second will report in six months from now with details about where she went, and the depths and water temperatures she favored. It's all part of our ongoing field research program to learn more about the lives of juvenile great white sharks.
As we were making plans for her release, our scientific colleagues who've been tagging adult great white sharks near San Francisco Bay made big headlines. Today they published their findings about the lives of the great white population off northern California,.
They documented seasonal migrations between California and Hawaii, and to the "white shark cafe" midway between Baja California and Hawaii. They confirmed that the sharks return with absolute fidelity to their Bay Area feeding grounds each year, and documented that the northern California population is genetically isolated from other great white populations around the world.
We've shared some of these stories with visitors in our Project White Shark program and on our web pages. Now they're reaching a wider audience.
Yup, she was ready to go, all right, but she was a beauty while she was here. I remember at first she was camera shy, almost never passing close enough to the Outer Bay Web Cam to get a good look, but towards the end, she was showing off for the camera like a fashion model on a runway.
Congratulations MBA for hosting her, and even heartier congratulations for safely returning her to the wild.
Adieu, unnamed White Shark, beware of long lines, drum lines, nets and poachers.
Posted by: Mark Kawakami | November 06, 2009 at 06:35 PM
Didn't get up from Santa Barbara to see this juvenile Great White, but congratulations on another excellent educational tool to the public in regards to these magnificent, and often misunderstood creatures. I know sometimes you guys get flack for this project, but like you say, "they'll let us know when it's time" to get them back out safetly to the Pacific & let them "Do their thing". Lookin forward to next Sept! Big Kudos & excellent job MBA!
Posted by: Anthony | November 05, 2009 at 05:22 AM
It sounds like a wise decision to release her at this time. I'm so glad I was able to get down to the Aquarium (from WA state) to see her a couple of weeks after she was introduced to the Aquarium! As a former Bay Area resident, I was fortunate to see a couple of the other great whites before their release.
It sounds like this young lady will do just fine back in the wild. Can't wait to hear the reports! Thanks, MBA and MBARI, for ALL you do!
Posted by: Brenda Hicks | November 04, 2009 at 06:50 PM
Good luck out there Ms. White. Watch out for (human) predators. Great work Monteray.
Posted by: mavis | November 04, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Congratulations! I've been lucky enough to see all 5 of the sharks you've had, and it's been amazing every time. I have learned a lot about Great Whites, and have to say they are on of my favorite sea creatures. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: SaraJ | November 04, 2009 at 09:39 AM
Sad to have missed the chance to see her. I kept putting off driving down to the aquarium. Oh well, I've seen three of five so far. :)
Posted by: Joel | November 04, 2009 at 09:35 AM