A great white shark is swimming up the coast of New Jersey, and thanks to a team tracking it, people can monitor her every move.
Tipping the scales at 3,456 pounds, 16-foot-long Mary Lee is making waves while swimming up the East Coast, thanks in part to a cheeky Twitter account highlighting the journey.
OCEARCH is the group behind the global shark tracker monitoring Mary Lee's movements. The group captures mature sharks and tag them after using a 75,000-pound custom lift, then releases the sharks back into the ocean for monitoring.
Mary Lee was captured in Cape Cod, tagged and named by the group in 2012.
Mary Lee was tracked about 20 miles off of Assateague Island in Maryland earlier this week; before that, she was tracked in North and South Carolina.
On Friday, her tracker put her at the Jersey Shore, just north of Brigantine. Every time Mary Lee's tracker reaches the surface of the water, it pings a satellite with her location.
16ft+ GWS @MaryLeeShark pings north of #Brigantine, #NJ! http://t.co/9riENG1R8m @CaterpillarInc @CostaSunglasses pic.twitter.com/isnddekCv1— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) May 8, 2015
The dedicated Twitter account is tweeting updates on her location and answering questions from fans. It's not affiliated with the nonprofit that tracks Mary Lee, OCEARCH, but has drawn attention because of its clever interaction with shark fans; at the time of writing, it had more than 17,000 followers.
When I do wear a bathing suit, it's usually something I snagged at the beach. Red carpet? More like red water. -:() https://t.co/euV0NxAqxC— Mary Lee the shark (@MaryLeeShark) May 8, 2015
A map on OCEARCH's website also allows fans to follow Mary Lee's trail since tracking began.
According to the site, Mary Lee was named after OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischer's mother.
“My parents have done so much. I was waiting and waiting for a special shark to name after her and this is truly the most historic and legendary fish I have ever been a part of and it set the tone for Cape Cod,“ Fischer said.