BEIJING,
March 24 (Xinhuanet) -- A young white shark released from the Monterey Bay
Aquarium, California, one month and half ago has traveled past the southern
tip of Mexico Baja peninsula heading towards waters off the Mexican coast,
according to media reports Monday.
This male shark has journeyed about 1,200 miles
(1,930 km) in six weeks since it was released on Feb. 5, which was the fastest
shark's migration documented from Monterey to Mexico, as aquarium staff said.
"To travel that far, that fast was totally
unexpected," said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry at the aquarium.
The shark's journey has been tracked ever since its
release with the help of a Smart Position-Only Tag (SPOT) that sent information
on its location, while a pop-up tag sent information on the water temperature
and depths the shark prefers.
The shark was caught accidentally in August 2007 off
Ventura by a commercial fisherman, and kept under observation for 24 days in a
4-million-gallon ocean pen off Malibu. Aquarium staff determined that he was
feeding and navigating well in the pen before they decided to bring him to
Monterey.
The young shark was seen by more than 650,000 people
during his 162 days on exhibit. That was about 8 percent more visitors than
aquarium officials had anticipated, and slightly below attendance levels for the
prior year.
This is the third shark released from this aquarium
since 2004. The other two released before have survived and thrived.
A pop-up tag placed on a female white shark released
in 2005 tracked her from Monterey Bay to waters north of Santa Barbara during
her first 30 days back in the wild. The second shark reached Cabo San Lucas 90
days after his release in 2007.
(Agencies)
