A 2,076-pound great white shark measuring 15 foot 5 inches was spotted along the East Coast.

OCEARCH, a non-profit organization, initially spotted and tagged the shark, among 11 others, with a tracker near Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in September. On Oct. 12, the tracker alerted that the shark was spotted off the coast of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. The shark showed up to the south of Key West, Florida on Saturday.

The female shark has been named Unama'ki, a term used by the indigenous people of Nova Scotia for Cape Breton, meaning "land of the fog."

Unama'ki was the second biggest white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the northwest Atlantic, CNN affiliate WSOC-TV reported.

"As a big mature female, Unama'ki has the potential to lead us to the site where she gives birth and exposes a new white shark nursery," OCEARCH stated.

Shark enthusiasts can live-track Unama'ki on the OCEARCH website, under Unama’ki's Travel Log.

"In Florida, sharks typically move inshore and north in the spring and summer, and offshore and south in fall and winter months," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), said. Hence, sharks are highly active in Florida waters from April to October ⁠— around the same time humans go out to take a dip.

Despite so, sharks are not prone to attack humans frequently. "Humans are 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning in Florida than to be bitten by a shark," the FCW said.

According to experts, the increase in shark attacks are a sign of rising human visitors and not of the shark population. The FCW urged their visitors to educate themselves about sharks, nonetheless.

shark-3197585_640
shark pixabay
RELATED STORIES