The Secret Life Of Jaws

After tagging more than 75 sharks, researchers at the University of Miami have built a database that tracks the movements of several species. The nine individuals here have vastly different migration patterns. The bull shark Lia covered only 20 miles over 74 days, while Linda, a tiger shark, traveled more than 2,000 miles up the Eastern seaboard. "She encircles an area the size of a billion football fields," says Hammerschlag. "I had no idea we would see that scale."

BULL SHARKS

Hoover
83 days
90 miles

Lia
74 days
20 miles

Springer II
104 days
340 miles

GREAT HAMMERHEADS

Arianna
84 days
16 miles

Chad
20 days
60 miles

Sawyer
61 days
1,100 miles

TIGER SHARKS

Dominic
139 days
90 miles

Linda
310 days
2,100 miles

Virginia
128 days
120 miles

This article originally appeared in the May 2013 issue of Popular Science. See the rest of the magazine here.