My Life as a Shark

Movements of Tancook

Tancook was first tagged near Ironbound, Nova Scotia, on September 22, 2021. Tancook's most recent location is near Daytona Beach, Florida on November 26, 2022.

Tancook pinged both frequently and occasionally. Most of the time, he would ping within a matter of a few days while sometimes he would ping after a week or more. Through his whole journey, he was consistent and he could easily be tracked. Tancook pinged more often near the coast. Throughout this entire semester of tracking him, he only stayed in shallow waters above the continental shelf. The continental shelf appeared to be his preferred underwater feature. From my time tracking Tancook, he never once crossed the continental shelf or went to the open or deep ocean.

It appears that Tancook continuously migrates along the coast the Eastern United States and Eastern lower Canada. It also appears that Tancook stays in a specific route all year round. He moves between the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is near the coast of Canada and the entire Eastern coast of the United States. For example, when I first tracked Tancook in August of 2022, he was already near the coast of Canada and remained there until the end of October, where he finally made it to the Eastern coast of the United States. From there, he continued to move down along the coast until he reached Florida.

Tancook has moved back to where he was first tagged near Ironbound, Nova Scotia. On June 26, 2022, Tancook pinged near Mayhone Bay, Nova Scotia, which is very close to Ironbound. He also pinged on October 5, 2022, near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tancook appears to travel back to the coast of Nova Scotia occasionally.

Feeding Behaviors

White sharks have a very diverse diet. Their diet can consist of seabirds, turtles, dolphins, small whales, sea lions, seals, porpoises, squid, stingrays, and many more. Juveniles tend to prey upon bottom fish, smaller sharks, and schooling fish. On the other hand, adult white sharks will go for sea lion or seal colonies and dead whale carcasses. The white shark has a set of 300 teeth, with serrated teeth in the upper jaw and narrowly pointed teeth in the lower jaw. This is known as "knife and fork" teeth. When taking a bite of a large prey, the white shark will shake their head back and forth. The pointed teeth in the lower jaw hold the prey like a fork while the serrated teeth in the upper jaw cut off a chunk of food like a knife. Thus, white sharks frequently lose their teeth. Of course, the white shark has an infinite reserve of backup teeth! Surprisingly, though white sharks have 300 teeth, they actually do not chew their food!

Reproductive Behaviors

Though more research needs to be conducted on where white sharks mate, OCEARCH has found that the south-eastern United States is a hot spot for mating. Male and female white sharks have been observed swimming together off North and South Carolina during the winter before females leave offshore for gestation. The gestation period typically lasts around 12 months, and 2 to 10 pups are in the average litter. White sharks employ ovoviviparity as their mode of reproduction. This means the eggs develop inside the mother, and are fertilized and hatched within the female. The embryos receive nourishment from the egg yolk, not direct nourishment from the mother.

The Story of Tancook's Singleness Journey

My name is Tancook and I am a Great White shark. I want to tell you a story of how I went searching for a wife. It all began one day in August, when I was swimming around Chaleur Bay, which is near the lower eastern part of Canada. I was feeling quite lonely. Even though I am still young, I can't help myself. I just really want some sweet romance in my life. All the time I would swim alone with my head moving side to side. I would constantly have to maintain a steady swimming speed so my gills could be ventilated. Even though I was breathing with the gills God gave me, I felt like I wasn't really living. What's the point if I have no one to share this life with? I felt like I was going nowhere in these shallow waters. I liked the shallow waters though. Lots of seals like to hang out around Chaleur bay, so I thought I might as well stay close by. Hunting prey distracted me from my singleness. On this day, I heard some low-frequency sounds in the water. I knew it was an injured prey, which meant a delicious meal for me. I swam toward the sound and then used my nares to smell, and follow a scent trail. Eventually, I saw the meal. It was a scrumptious seal and I could sense turbulence in the water with my good ol' lateral line. As I became one meter away from my lunch, my external pores or Ampullae of Lorenzini gave me 100% confidence in my prey detection. My jaw protruded out and I bit that chubby piece of meat. I shook my head aggressively back and forth to hold my meal and rip off a chunk of deliciousness. One of my teeth was knocked out during the process, but I wasn't stressed about it. A new tooth would grow back before I knew it. Honestly, I am so blessed to have these teeth. My top teeth are extra sharp while my bottom teeth are pointy. Any female should think I am hot stuff. However, as I swallowed my meal that day, I began to realize how hungry I really was. I needed more.

For the next month of September, I spent my days around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Here I feasted on small whales, seabirds, and more seals. Every meal was scrumptious and thankfully I had a lot of luck staying on the continental shelf. Why would I want to go to the open ocean when all this food was located right near the coast? Then, I headed toward Nova Scotia, which is my favorite place for seals. I had been to Nova Scotia before where I had a killing spree of seals. That was the moment I really felt like I became a Great White. Once I reached Nova Scotia near the end of October, I ate so many seals again. I even stopped by Nantucket Shoals for some more seals. I might be addicted to seals, but at least I ain't starving. However, this is where the story takes a turn. I realized all these meals were really just suppressing my pain of loneliness. I hoped that eating and eating would just somehow shove my desire for love down until I pooped it out. Even though I was eating these amazing meals, I was hungry for love and companionship. That's when I decided that I was going to go find me a wife. A beautiful mate just in time for winter. I had heard rumors that the Carolinas would be throwing a mating party. Winter would mean Christmas, and I couldn't bear the thought of being single on this holiday. I had to start journeying to the lower eastern United States.

Three days after leaving Nantucket Shoals, I neared Virginia Beach. As I continued my journey south, the thought of being a father struck me. With every breath I took through my gills, I pictured having little pups of my own and a wife right by my side. At the beginning of November, I finally reached the Carolinas, but I was too early. The mating party wasn't set up, and there were no pretty ladies around. I shed a tear and saw a sea turtle nearby. I devoured it and felt a little better. I would have to keep going south for now, but then I would make a U-turn and make it just in time for the mating party by the Carolinas. Currently, I have just passed the coast of Georgia and now I am near Florida. Winter is coming soon and I am ready for this journey of singleness to be over. I will continue to stay in these shallow waters and munch on some seals here and there. I will have to be patient and wait for the wife I so long for. This journey did not result in my end to singleness, but it did result in some strong reflections and determination. I have endured much, but I know my anguish will soon turn into a passionate love story that I hope to tell soon. Winter is coming.