Eat your heart out, white sharks fans: White shark feeding behavior may be wrapped in mystery—but the science to solve it is wrapped in blubber! After being ingested, special tags we’re calling “Fitbits for Sharks” record the shark’s swimming and feeding behaviors from within the belly of the beast.
After a few days to about a month, the tag is regurgitated with other indigestible bits, at which point our researchers swoop in to recover the tag to study its contents. These data will help shark scientists understand more about the day in the life of these mega-fish as they swim along the Californian coast and the Farallon Islands out to Hawaii via the White Shark Cafe.
Check out what we’ve learned!
Important note: The blubber used in this research is collected with scientific permits from previously deceased animals. No animals were harmed in these studies.
One blubber burrito redux coming right up! 🦈🌯
Sharks may well be the most fascinating and misunderstood animals in the ocean. Despite their powerful presence in the human imagination, sharks remain creatures of mystery with an uncertain future. We know little about their lives, including where and how they live, and where their young are born, and worldwide they face the threat of extinction. Tags like these allow us to unravel some of those mysteries to help understand how together we can better protect these fintastic animals.
