WHAT LURKS BENEATH
Three huge great white sharks up to 14 FEET long spotted just off the US coast as warning issued
THREE massive great white sharks up to 14ft in length have been spotted off the US coast in the last week, officials have warned.
The sighting off the coast of North Carolina included the largest male shark to be tagged in Canadian waters by research agency OCEARCH.
2
2
The largest male shark to be tagged by OCEARCH is Mahone, who measures 13 feet 7 inches and weighs 1,701 pounds, .
His transmitter pinged most recently on April 11 at 7.06am, according to .
Mahone was tagged in October 2020 in the waters near Nova Scotia and has been traveling up and down the waters of the east coast of North America since.
Two other great whites were also tracked to the same area. , a 12-foot, 990-pound shark who was detected off the coast on April 6, , a juvenile 10-foot, 715-pound shark pinged on April 10.
The sharks' trackers ping whenever they spend enough time in one location for the satellites to pick up the signal.
OCEARCH is on a mission to tag 100 sharks throughout the western North Atlantic. Their goal is to "return our oceans back to balance and abundance."
The group has tagged 83 sharks allowing them to collect data for over 24 projects.
Their main goal is to learn when and where white sharks mate.
Most read in US News
Maps tracking the movement of sharks have shown how prevalent they are in coastal waters that are usually full of swimmers.
One map has pinpointed the dozens of prowling beasts lurking in the waters around the US and Caribbean.
The extent of the threat posed to people enjoying a dip in the sea comes after an Italian tourist was mauled to death in waters off La Piscinita, on the idyllic Colombian island of San Andres.
In the first reported shark attack on the island, Antonio Straccialini, 56, had been out swimming when he was attacked by an eight-foot tiger shark that tore a chunk from his leg.
Horrifying photos show the man lying on his back with a huge chunk taken out of his right thigh and blood gushing from the wound before he was taken to the hospital.
After suffering severe blood loss from the bite, he went into a state of hypovolemic shock and died from his injuries.
The attack has been blamed on a tiger shark, second only to the great white in recorded fatal incidents involving humans although they are still exceedingly rare.
Tiger sharks are the fourth-biggest species of shark in the world.
Fast hunters, they can reach speeds of up to 20mph, while a female can have between 10 and 82 babies in one litter.
Sharks can have incredibly long life spans. Recently the body of a shark that was alive when King Henry VIII was on the throne was discovered off the Cornish coast.
The Greenland shark is a rare species that has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrates at between 250 and 500 years.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network was contacted and arrived at the beach within an hour but the tide had come in and washed the shark back out into the sea.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The US Sun
An urgent appeal to search for the shark was raised, with a crew from Mermaid Pleasure Trips managing to find it.
The Wildlife Trust and Marine Strandings Network have used the carcass to learn more about the elusive species, and sharks in general.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at
Topics