Killer whales hunt, kill great white shark
Shark Week’s Alison Towner, a marine biologist based in South Africa, secured drone footage of three killer whales hunting a nine-foot great white shark. Courtesy of Discovery’s Shark Week
A 1,400-pound great white shark was tracked just off the shore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, earlier this week, causing anxiety for some residents.
The nonprofit shark locator OCEARCH pinged the 13-foot shark, named Breton, approximately 60 miles offshore.
The shark was originally tagged near Nova Scotia on Sept. 12, 2020.
Data from two months ago pinged Breton near Florida.
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A great white shark baited by animal guide Andre Hartmann surfaces Dec. 2, 2007, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Gansbaii, South Africa. (Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
"Breton is somewhat of an anomaly. While the rest of our actively pinging white sharks are off the Northeast United States or Atlantic Canada, Breton remains in the warm waters off the Southeast US," OCEARCH said on its Twitter account. "This is the latest we’ve seen one of our white sharks stay this far south in the Western North Atlantic. Typically we notice our white sharks start their migration north from mid-May to June."
The ocean tracker notes the ocean region of Myrtle Beach sees approximately 20 different types of sharks throughout the course of the year. Although he is large, Breton is not the biggest shark to be pinged in that area.
Nearly a decade ago, a local Myrtle Beach resident spotted a 3,400-pound great white shark that measured 16 feet. It was tracked 2,500 feet off the coast of Myrtle Beach, according to WPDE.
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OCEARCH said great whites typically are not seen in this region during this time of year because many of them migrate north between May and June.
A great white shark swimming in the ocean (iStock)
"How Breton is dealing with the warm water temperatures or if he’s finally started his migratory trip [north] are some of the questions our science team is currently asking," OCEARCH said. "We'll be watching Breton’s movements closely over the next few weeks."
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You can track Breton's movements across the seas on OCEARCH'S website.
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