Breton the Great White Shark leaves scientists BAFFLED by sketching 'self-portrait' using GPS
A great white shark appears to have drawn a stunning "self-portrait" with a GPS tracker attached to it while looking for prey in the ocean.
Marine scientists tracking Breton the great white shark were shocked by the unexpected masterpiece. The 13ft underwater predator was reportedly fitted with a tracking device as part of a research program by ocean research charity OCEARCH in Nova Scotia, Canada, in September 2020. Two years later, scientists were shocked to see the sea beast sketching an outline of a shark as he swam along the east coast off New Jersey, Chincoteague, Virginia, and Long Bay, South Carolina.
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Breton's movements were marked by a GPS ping every time he surfaced. The creature drew a "head" by surfacing on the coast of Florida and the Carolinas. Tracking data points also created the shape of a "dorsal fin" around Washington DC and New York, as well as a "tail" around Nova Scotia. What's more? Breton even drew the outline of a "pectoral fin" when the shark forged a triangle-shaped path into the ocean and back.
A shark fitted with a GPS tracker drew a shark in the Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/qVbpW4AcgN
— Jeff Barnaby (@tripgore) September 17, 2022
The mind-blowing image made waves on social media, garnering several hilarious responses.
"The shark tracker is a wonderful app to follow anyway, but this is just Breton being awesome," one tweeted.
"Jaws? More like Draws," another quipped.
"Kinda feeling envious that the shark gets to travel so much," someone else joked.
"Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing….. BA-BY SHARK DO DO DO DO DE DOOO," another added.
The shark tracker is a wonderful app to follow anyway, but this is just Breton being awesome. https://t.co/DRwy34EUMx
— Fiona Robertson♿🌻 (@FionasWriting) September 18, 2022
Breton is a great white shark currently being tracked with GPS by @OCEARCH researchers- this is his path. Oh he knew exactly what he was doing….. BA-BY SHARK DO DO DO DO DE DOOOhttps://t.co/urx2pFsdFY pic.twitter.com/Wb7043VDUP
— Drew Mingl 🏛💻📊🏜️ (@drewmingl) September 18, 2022
According to The Sun, Breton was first tagged on September 12, 2020, at Scaterie Island in Nova Scotia. He was most recently tagged on Wednesday, September 21, at 3.29 am local time off the coast of Baie de Plaisance in Quebec. That said, this is not the first time Breton has made headlines. He drew attention in June when he was found lurking near Florida’s Indian River lagoon system. And in May, the 1,500-pound sea beast was spotted dangerously close to the North Carolina coast.
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It's worth noting that OCEARCH has tracked several sharks to the waters off the coast of the Carolinas in the last two years. Three great whites were tracked to a similar location in April, including the largest male charge tagged by the group. Mahone measures 13 feet 7 inches and weighs 1,701 pounds. He was followed by two smaller great whites -- Ulysses, a 12-foot 990-pound shark who was detected off the coast on April 6, and Tancook, a juvenile 10-foot 715-pound shark that pinged on April 10.
White shark Ironbound pinged in off Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia last night! We haven't heard from him since May 25th. This 12 ft 4 in 998 lb (3.76 m 452.68 kg) adult male was tagged off Lunenburg on Oct 3, 2019 + we've been following his journey ever since! 😍🦈🙌 pic.twitter.com/gQnHbxrLTC
— Great White Montauk (@SharkMontauk) July 20, 2022
OCEARCH is a non-profit organization that is known for tagging sea animals to collect data that can be passed on to marine researchers. The GPS tracker on a tagged shark will "ping" to notify scientists of its location when it swims close enough to the surface of the water. The data gathered helps scientists learn about migration habits, mating regions, and areas where sharks raise their young. The group aims to tag at least 100 sharks throughout the western North Atlantic.