October 7, 2005 A great white shark has made the longest migration ever recorded, traveling some 12,400 miles, according to a new study. Nicole, a shark named after the actress Nicole Kidman, traveled from Africa to Australia, then turned around and headed back, prompting scientists to conclude that the two continents’ shark populations are connected. The study currently appears in the journal Science.
Dr. Ramon Bonfil of the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and lead author of the study, told the Associated Press (AP) that he "suspected that these sharks could be doing these kinds of travels ... but there was previously no proof of this. Everybody thought they were mostly coastal in behavior."
According to the AP, a device was attached to the shark which tracked her movement via satellite from the Africa to Australia, which took her 99 days. Then, six months after the tracking device detached, she was spotted again on the African coast, recognized in photographs.
Nicole also provided scientists with the deepest depth ever recorded for a great white and clues as to how sharks navigate massive distances and why.
"Although Nicole took frequent plunges to depths as great as 3,215 feet—a record for white sharks—while crossing the Indian Ocean, she spent most of her time, 61 percent, swimming along the surface," the WCS told Reuters.
According to Reuters, the fact that she spent much of her time on the surface leads scientists to the belief that sharks use celestial navigation. In fact, Nicole’s route between continents was virtually straight. The researchers believe she traveled so far for mating purposes.
Bonfil told the AP that the tracking of Nicole "is one of the most significant discoveries about white shark ecology and suggests we might have to rewrite the life history of this powerful fish."
