They make quite the fearsome threesome, Mary Lee, Genie and now Lydia, the third massive great white shark tagged and tracked recently by Ocearch scientists.
ABC 4 in Charleston, S.C., reports that the nonprofit shark research group Ocearch caught Lydia Sunday near the Mayport Poles surfing area in Jacksonville, Fla. Weighing in at 2,000 pounds and measuring 14.5 feet long, Lydia wasted no time in clamping her jaws on a chum line, then dragging the boat into reverse before the scientists gained control, according to ABC 4. Once the animal was secured, Ocearch researchers attached a GPS device to her fin, took blood samples, did an ultrasound to detect any pregnancy (she's not), and eased her back into the water.
Lydia took a bite out of history too, becoming the "first great white to be captured, tagged and released off the Southeastern U.S. coast," WPTV reported.
Ocearch wrote on its expedition blog that Lydia is named after Bradley University founder Lydia Moss Bradley, "a long-time friend" of Ocearch sponsor Caterpillar Inc.
Ocearch last September hooked 16-foot, 3,500-pound Mary Lee and the 14-foot, 2,300-pound Genie near Cape Cod. The tracking data for those two show their migrations along the East Coast. Mary Lee has provided extra excitement with occasional forays close to shore.
The nonprofit Ocearch, of course, isn't trying to scare us with images of these whopper predators. The group is hoping that its research will shed light on the great white and help restore its declining population, according to its website.
You can check out Ocearch's Global Shark Tracker here. Visit Rally.org if you'd like to donate to Ocearch.
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