1,300-pound great white shark Bob pinged off Florida, near Palm Coast on Feb. 29
A massive 13-foot great white shark was tracked off the Flagler County coast on Leap Day.
The 1,300-pound ocean predator, nicknamed Bob, pinged off Palm Coast at 10:13 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29.
Bob is being tracked by OCEARCH scientists who attached a satellite tag to the shark's dorsal fin in 2021. When the tag breaks the water, it emits a ping with location information that's transmitted to trackers.
The adult shark pinged in the waters off Jacksonville on Jan. 31. According to his tracker, he has traveled 4,034 miles since he was tagged and has repeatedly spent his winters around the Sunshine State. Bob traveled as far south as St. Augustine in November 2021 and Flagler Beach in 2022.
Here's what to know about white shark Bob, OCEARCH and sharks in Florida:
More about white shark Bob
Bob, an adult male white shark, measured 13 feet 4 inches and weighed a whopping 1,308 pounds when he was tagged in Nova Scotia in September of 2021.
He was named for OCEARCH Chief Scientist Dr. Robert (Bob) Hueter, a pioneer in shark science for over 40 years.
"We’ll be following the journeys of both Bob the shark and Dr. Bob Hueter as they continue to help us grow in the world of science for the betterment of our sharks and our oceans," a note on Bob's OCEARCH tracker page reads.
Great white shark facts
Here are some things to know about white sharks, according to NOAA Fisheries:
White sharks grow slowly. Males mature at around 26 years old and females at around 33 years old. Life expectancy is difficult to determine but is estimated to be between 30 and 70 years.
White sharks are about 4 feet long at birth but can grow up to about 20 feet long and weigh over 4,000 pounds.
White shark eat an opportunistic diet of fish, invertebrates and marine mammals.
White sharks are partially warm-blooded and can maintain their internal body temperature above that of the surrounding water. This allows them to be more active in cooler waters than cold-blooded species.
Great white sharks in Florida?
Yes. White sharks migrate south when the water gets cold and food sources become scarce up north, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.
Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.
Most of them tend to stay away from the beaches in continental shelf waters, Hueter said.
What is OCEARCH?
OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization studying the ocean's giants.
The group studies great white sharks and other keystone species essential for the health of the oceans.
OCEARCH recently finished up its 46th expedition, dubbed Expedition Southeast. It departed from Jacksonville on Nov. 17 and made its final docking in Morehead City, North Carolina on Dec. 15.
During the expeditions, researchers collected previously unattainable data on the animals' migrations, reproductive cycle, genetic status, diet, abundance, and more.
"If we lose the apex predator (sharks) then we lose all our fish and then there are no fish sandwiches for our grandchildren," OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer told the Courier Journal. "That's oversimplified, of course, but the idea is important because many shark species are threatened by overfishing and a demand for shark fins in Asia. Their dwindling numbers jeopardize ocean habitats."
Most shark attacks happen in Florida
There were 69 documented unprovoked shark attacks around the globe in 2023. The U.S. led the world with 36 attacks and Florida again was the state with the most bites at 16.
Florida shark attacks by county:
Miami-Dade County: 1
Pinellas County: 1
While the U.S. has the most attacks, South Africa has the most shark-related fatalities.
Since 1992, there have been 1,232 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 13-foot OCEARCH white shark pings off Flagler County, Florida coast
