Massive great white shark resurfaces off North Carolina coast. Meet Contender.
Perhaps the big fish is visiting for the upcoming 50th birthday of 'Jaws,' the upcoming July 4 holiday, or it is just plain migrating north.
Whatever the reason, the Atlantic Ocean's largest tagged great white shark on record resurfaced off the coast of North Carolina, just off the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras, this week, scientists said.
At nearly 14 feet in length, "Contender," a white male shark is "making moves along the Atlantic coast, giving us more valuable data on the lives of white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic," OCEARCH, a global non-profit marine research group tracking shark sightings and migration wrote on social media.
'Jaws' 50th anniversary on Cape, Islands How can you take part in 'Jaws' mania? Here are some fun tips for the Vineyard
Researchers first tagged Contender in January off the Florida-Georgia coast, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
Since then, the shark has pinged several times including on Jan. 26 and Feb. 6.
A ping means the Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting tag attached to the fish's dorsal fin was spotted above the surface for a brief period as it swam, transmitting a near-live location signal to the OCEARCH shark tracker.
Dunn-dunn... 'Jaws' returning to theaters for 50th anniversary: See when
According to OCEARCH's shark tracker page, Contender weighs 1,653 pounds.
Contender is an adult male shark believed to be just over 30 years old.
The visit comes at the time of year when great white sharks start migrating north to warmer waters for a larger food supply, according to the non-profit.
"Every ping helps us get one step closer to understanding and protecting these incredible animals," it wrote on Facebook.
To track Contender and other sharks online, download the free OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker App, available on iOS, Android, and on desktop at ocearch.org
Contributing: USA TODAY's Taylor Ardrey
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biggest tagged great white shark is 30 years old. He just resurfaced.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kroger is giving away 92,000 pints of free ice cream: How to get coupon
To celebrate the first day of summer, Kroger is giving away more than 90,000 pints of free ice cream. On Friday, June 20, the first day of summer, the grocery store chain is giving away 92,000 pints of Kroger brand ice cream for free – 1,000 pints for each of the season's 92 days. The campaign is a part of a promotion for Kroger's Summer in a Pint collection of ice creams. The grocery store chain started its Summer in a Pint collection last year, offering 45,000 pints of free ice cream (50 pints per minute of summer's 900 minutes of sunlight). "Last year, we were blown away by customer excitement for our free pint offer and this summer we are making it even sweeter," Kroger Group Vice President of Center Store Merchandising Mike Murphy said in a news release. Here's how to get that free sweet treat this year. Visit to download a single-use digital coupon, available exclusively on June 20, starting at noon ET, while supplies last. Customers can redeem the coupon on one of the new Summer in a Pint flavors or any classic Kroger Brand ice creams. The coupon is redeemable at participating Kroger stores from June 20 through Friday, July 4. The coupon is not redeemable at Kroger stores in California, Colorado, Louisiana, Tennessee and Nevada or at banner stores Mariano's, Metro Market, Pick 'n Save and QFC, according to a news release. According to a news release, four flavors are available with the coupon: Italian Style Summer Fizz: Blood orange-flavored sherbet with popping candy clusters and a blood orange-flavored ribbon Fireside Nights: Toasted marshmallow-flavored ice cream featuring s'mores pieces and a glittery swirl that resembles the orange hue of a campfire flame Sandy Shores: Coconut-flavored ice cream with a sweet and salty pretzel crunch Poolside Tan Lines: Swirl of vanilla bean, chocolate and coffee ice creams To find the nearest Kroger, or banner store, near you, visit Kroger's website, Kroger banner stores include Baker's, City Market, Dillions, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Gerbes, Jay C Food Store, Pay Less Super-Markets and Smith's Food and Drug. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to get free ice cream from Kroger to celebrate summer
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
‘Jaws' 50th Anniversary: Spielberg's Hollywood Sea Change
When John Williams first played the 'Jaws' theme for Steven Spielberg on a piano, the young director thought it was a joke. Da-dunt? That's it? An E and an F? The composer and the filmmaker had worked together only once before—on Mr. Spielberg's debut theatrical feature, 'The Sugarland Express' (1974)—but neither had any way of knowing theirs would be one of the most fruitful artistic partnerships in the history of Hollywood. Without that theme, built around those two ominous notes that signaled the lurking terror of the shark, 'Jaws' is scarcely conceivable. 'The score was clearly responsible for half the success of the movie,' Mr. Spielberg acknowledged in the 1995 documentary 'The Making of 'Jaws.'' On the 50th anniversary of the film's release on June 20, 1975—which is being marked with a Blu-ray/4K reissue with hours of extras, as well as an NBC broadcast of the film on Friday night featuring an introduction from the director—a few other successes are worth remembering.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
'Love Island USA' cast updates: Every Season 7 contestant so far
'Love Island USA' cast updates: Every Season 7 contestant so far An explosive recoupling has left the "Love Island: USA" Season 7 villa in flames. America's vote to pair up the three latest bombshells with other coupled-up islanders has broken up strong connections and given a chance for new ones to potentially blossom. By the end of Episode 12, fans watched one of the earlier bombshells pack their bags to go home. Throughout the season, USA TODAY will keep fans updated on all the bombshells entering the Fiji villa. Here's a recap of all the islanders who have entered the villa for "Love Island USA" Season 7, including those who debuted since last week's update. 'Love Island USA' Season 6: Which couples are still together? Who are the latest bombshells? Three bombshells entered the villa to spice things up during a spicy game of "Dominate Tricks" on Episode 9. Jalen, 27, from Sparta, Georgia Iris, 25, from Los Angeles, California Pepe, 27, from Los Angeles, California Every islander who has entered the villa so far Women: Chelley, 27, from Orlando, Florida Huda, 24, from Raleigh, North Carolina Belle-A, 22, from Honolulu, Hawaii (Dumped, Episode 6) Olandria, 27, from Decatur, Alabama Yulissa, 27, from Miami, Florida (Left the villa) Cierra, 25, from Arizona (Bombshell, Episode 2) Amaya, 25, New York City (Bombshell, Episode 4) Hannah, 23, Tucson, Arizona (Bombshell, Episode 4) Iris, 25, from Los Angeles, California (Bombshell, Episode 9) Men: Ace, 22, from Los Angeles, California Taylor, 24, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Nicolas, 24, from Jacksonville, Florida Austin, 26, from Northville, Michigan Jeremiah, 25, from Los Angeles, California Charlie, 27, from the UK (Bombshell, Episode 2) Jalen, 27, from Sparta, Georgia (Bombshell, Episode 9) Pepe, 27, from Los Angeles, California (Bombshell, Episode 9) 'The Traitors' Season 4 cast revealed: Stars from 'Survivor,' Olympics, more Which islanders are paired after the dramatic recoupling? Iris and Jeremiah (America's vote) Olandria and Jalen (America's vote) Hannah and Pepe (America's vote) Amaya and Ace Chelley and Austin Cierra and Nic Single islanders: Huda Taylor Which islander was dumped from the island? Charlie, who was coupled up with Hannah, was dumped from the island on Episode 12 after his fellow islanders had to choose between him, Huda, and Taylor. Before the vote, Charlie tried to plead his case, telling the other contestants that he and Hannah had reconciled after she decided to explore a connection with Pepe. "I just want to say before you have to make the decision, I had the most amazing moment with Hannah," he said. "It was just this crazy feeling I've never felt. Everything we went through these last two days, I feel like led to this moment where we literally looked each other in the eyes in a different way, rediscovered each other." However, the numbers were not on his side: Charlie: 3, Huda: 2, Taylor: 1. 'Sweet Life: Los Angeles': Cast talk milestones, life ahead of show's OWN debut How to watch 'Love Island USA' Season 7 "Love Island USA" is available to stream on Peacock. Starting next week, June 9, the show's streaming schedule will be Thursdays to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET, meaning the only day without a new episode will be Wednesdays. Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
