Bruin the Shark Pays a Visit to the Outer Banks

It’s not unusual for sharks to make an appearance along the Outer Banks this time of year as they make their way south from New England, and a young great white shark named Bruin appears to have paid a visit to Hatteras Island, and perhaps the Pamlico Sound.

Bruin is one of the sharks that are logged into “Global Shark Tracker” – an interactive program by the non-profit organization Ocearch which tags, researches, and follows sharks all around the world.

Bruin is a new addition to the program, and was first tagged in Montauk, New York in August. Weighing in at just 101 pounds and measuring 5 feet, 5 inches, Bruin’s initial few months were spent off the coast of New York and New England until earlier this week.

On Monday night, the juvenile great white shark made his first trip down south. He was pinged just off of Hatteras Island – about 20 miles off the coast of Buxton – and appears to have been in the Pamlico Sound.

The winter is an especially active time for all sorts of species who head south for the season, and as ocean waters continually cool, expect to see more appearances of sharks like Bruin, juvenile and adult whales, and even visiting seals.

For more information on Bruin’s southern vacation, or to track other sharks that are part of the Ocearch family, go to www.ocearch.org.