'Tweeting' shark helps scientists discover possible mating site
NOVA SCOTIA, Canada (RNN) – A white shark that was tagged off the coast of South Carolina tweeted Shark Week greetings from the waters off Nova Scotia. Or at least the people who are monitoring him did.
Amid his underwater roaming, Hilton helped scientists uncover a possible new mating site for sharks.
Oh yeah...kickin’ off #SharkWeek in Nova Scotia! Thrilled to be back! pic.twitter.com/Q9UaoZXvPm
— HiltonTheShark (@HiltonTheShark) July 23, 2018
Chris Fischer, a founding chairman or Ocearch, the research group who tagged and has been monitoring Hilton told the CBC that the shark's return to Nova Scotia for mating season is an "eureka moment."
Hilton spent mating season last year in the same area of Canadian waters. Fischer said they wanted to see if it was "a fluke."
It wasn't. Hilton swam past known mating areas off the coast of Massachusetts to return to the waters of Nova Scotia.
Now that I’m back in Nova Scotia, I just gotta visit all my favorite spots! I mean come on….does it get any prettier than this?! pic.twitter.com/eeAerUp1fQ
— HiltonTheShark (@HiltonTheShark) July 23, 2018
Hilton, of course, was named after Hilton Head, SC, "the local community who has graciously welcomed us" and where Hilton was tagged in 2017 during their Lowcountry Expedition, Ocearch said.
The process of tagging a shark causes them minor discomfort, but the sharks are released after 15 minutes, Ocearch said.
Monitoring the sharks helps scientists better understand the creature's habits, providing "conservation and public safety information that does not currently exist."
Though sharks often make headlines when they attack humans, the great white sharks play an important role in the food web as "the lions of the sea," Ocearch said. "They help maintain ecosystem balance. To remove top predators would result in disrupting the delicate balance of the food web."
Hilton has roamed far since his tagging - from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters south of Alabama, around the Florida peninsula and up the Atlantic coast.
Judging from the tracking data, Hilton seems to prefer the waters off the Georgia and South Carolina coast.
The researchers said they will visit Hilton's Nova Scotia getaway in the fall.
Is @HiltonTheShark leading us to a new mating site in Nova Scotia? We’re headed there in the fall to find out. You could win a trip to come with us. Enter here for a chance to win https://t.co/PxwXmLcMbR@CostaSunglasses @southerntide @YETICoolers #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/0D3Fl6NcCO
— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) July 23, 2018
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