Tagged in SC last year, a great white shark’s epic journey has astounded researchers
A massive great white shark tagged off Hilton Head last year astounded researchers by making it all the way to Newfoundland, Canada.
“Holy smokes I finally made it to Newfoundland!” Hilton the 1,326-pound shark tweeted Friday. “Thankfully the gut I got from gorging myself in Nova Scotia is helping keep me warm cuz this water is chilly! I expect there’s plenty of food up here to help me keep piling on the pounds though.”
OCEARCH, the Massachusetts-based great white shark research and advocacy group that tagged and tracks Hilton, also has been tweeting about Hilton’s amazing journey. Hilton is 12 feet, 5 inches long.
“White shark @HiltonTheShark continues to lay down unprecedented tracks,” OCEARCH tweeted Friday night. “He’s now only the second white shark we’ve tracked to Newfoundland but he’s farther north than we’ve ever seen one go.”
On Thursday, Hilton tweeted about entering frigid waters but how he’s able to cope. The sea temperature off Newfoundland was 53 degrees Fahrenheit Friday and Saturday, according to SeaTemperature.org. Water that cold is described as “very dangerous/immediately life-threatening” to humans by the National Center for Cold Water Safety, causing “total loss of breathing control” and “maximum intensity cold shock.”
“Fortunately as a white shark I’m able to keep my body temperature a little warmer than the water I’m in,” Hilton tweeted.
Hilton embarked on a similar journey in 2017, making it as far as Nova Scotia before returning to North Carolina by December 2017, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported in an article published Dec. 13, 2017.
Hilton probably journeyed to Novia Scotia to find a female with whom to mate, OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer said, according to the News & Observer report.
“OCEARCH research suggests that shark migration patterns show Nova Scotia to be a probable breeding site for great whites,” the News and Observer reported in the Dec. 13 article.
Last week, Hilton tweeted from off the coast of Nova Scotia, complaining how tough it was finding female companionship yet again.
All he kept seeing were great white guy sharks.
“@OCEARCH just tagged it’s 3rd male up here in Nova Scotia named @WhiteSharkHal,” Hilton tweeted. “I wonder where all the ladies are at?!”
A few days earlier, he encountered Nova the shark and then Jefferson the shark.
On Thursday, Nova tweeted a friendly message to Hilton to let him know the waters had room for them all.
This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 8:59 AM.