Tagging Map
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.