Handy Shark Tracker for Vacation Planning
November 6, 2012 6:15 AM   Subscribe

Pick a shark and follow his/her course through the oceans of the world.
posted by mygothlaundry (38 comments total) 31 users marked this as a favorite
 
Pick a shark

Oh great, another election thread.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [14 favorites]


I got a little nervous when the map showed one not far from me, but it turned out to be a candygram.
posted by DU at 6:24 AM on November 6, 2012 [15 favorites]


My first thought was "this is an invasion of shark privacy", but if they've got nothing to hide they shouldn't have a problem with it.
posted by davebush at 6:29 AM on November 6, 2012 [8 favorites]


Mary Lee is the one a friend posted on Facebook last night that got me obsessively checking this site. I couldn't figure out how to link directly but she was right up in Charleston harbor a couple days ago. I grew up on, in and around Charleston harbor and it never occurred to me that I was sharing that water with 16 foot great white sharks. For which I am grateful, because at least I got to enjoy my childhood and adolescence before finding this website in middle age and deciding never to go in the ocean again.

Anyway I think it's fascinating how some of them (like Mary Lee) travel hundreds and hundreds of miles and others (Genie) stay pretty much in one place.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Okay, this is great.

I'M STALKING SHARKS.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:38 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm worried that Philip has gone so far inland. That seems reckless, even for a very immature shark.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [11 favorites]


This is the best thing I've ever seen. Mary Lee is my new personal favorite animal. I was swimming off the Isle of Palms this summer.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 7:05 AM on November 6, 2012


I'm really enjoying the idea that somewhere off the coast of South Africa, wreaking havoc and terror on the high seas, there is a terrifying great white shark who goes by Edna.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:10 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]


This is an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:11 AM on November 6, 2012


> this is truly the most historic and legendary fish I have ever been a part of

Shark taggers are as crazy as tornado chasers,.
posted by jfuller at 7:13 AM on November 6, 2012


Pick a shark

I gotta go with Bernardo. He gets all the lines plus a fight scene. Only problem, he never leaves Hell's Kitchen; so tracking him gets a little dull.
 
posted by Herodios at 7:20 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Hey, I was just looking at Mary Lee. Neat post, mgl.
posted by box at 7:23 AM on November 6, 2012


Cyndi?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:33 AM on November 6, 2012


There is some terrifying proof in Mary Lee's trajectory that sharks spend an alarming amount of time on land.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 7:37 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]


Yes, I like how they weasel out of the land question: The tracking system simply connects the last ping to the next ping and does not account for the fact the animal being tracked is a shark and clearly does not travel on land.
Ha HA! Obviously the animal is traveling overland. Wake up, sheeple! Look at the scientific evidence in front of you! Just because the sharks are probably in their cars at that point and thus rarely seen on the road does not mean they aren't out here walking driving among us.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:45 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]


Is "Ocearch" pronounced "oh search"? Which is obviously wrong? Or "oh shurch", which is obviously the ugliest word ever invented?

I hope google will put streetview cameras on sharks soon.
posted by moonmilk at 7:57 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]


As a complete data visualization nerd and former biologist, it drives me nuts that they aren't better about telling you what species of sharks they are tracking, or at least giving the common name of the species in the individual profiles. FWIW, clicking through a big handful of the individuals shows them all to be Carcharodon carcharias, aka Great White Shark. Are they not tracking any other sharks? I'd be very interested to visualize range differences between say Great Whites and Makos/Tigers...even Whale Sharks.

Otherwise, I super love this idea. GO SHARKS!
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:58 AM on November 6, 2012


> Wake up, sheeple!

Look up, sheeple. Those are airsharks.
posted by jfuller at 8:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Those are airsharks.

They prey mostly on the vast herds of dirigibulls. Who fight back with their dreaded airhorns.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:06 AM on November 6, 2012 [5 favorites]


Or "oh shurch", which is obviously the ugliest word ever invented?

It sounds like some new drag ball lingo, punctuated with a Z-shaped snap.
posted by mykescipark at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Is "Ocearch" pronounced "oh search"? Which is obviously wrong? Or "oh shurch", which is obviously the ugliest word ever invented?

Ermagehrd ehrcerch.

(Though the best word for ermagehrdificehrtion is still "flip-flops.")
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:20 AM on November 6, 2012


Maureen certainly gets around the ocean.
Tart.
posted by DZ-015 at 8:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


I love that some of the sharks suddenly veer off what looks like a long course for something, presumably something tasty looking.
posted by Augenblick at 8:24 AM on November 6, 2012


Isn't this against shark's privacy rights? I'm stalking them, baby.
posted by stormpooper at 8:48 AM on November 6, 2012


OMG! The ping is coming from inside the house!
posted by yoink at 9:03 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Those are airsharks.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:23 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Woo no sharks on the Pacific coast! *heads off to find flippers and snorkel*
posted by mudpuppie at 9:32 AM on November 6, 2012


Wait, no pingable sharks off the California coast? But somebody just got bit down in SoCal like last week! Where's that shark? We need to know!
posted by rtha at 9:37 AM on November 6, 2012


Mudpuppie, you might want to have a look here first. The Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators project also has a Shark Net app, for your mobile shark-tracking convenience.
posted by Kabanos at 9:44 AM on November 6, 2012


Reading further into the GTPP project above ... they're using ROBOTS in the oceans to track the sharks!

OCEAN ROBOTS vs LAND SHARKS
posted by Kabanos at 9:52 AM on November 6, 2012


Seems like there should be a shark named after Peter Benchley...
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 10:11 AM on November 6, 2012


> I grew up on, in and around Charleston harbor and it never occurred to me that I was sharing that water with 16 foot great white sharks.

I have a similar feeling from having frequented the beaches around Savannah. I had an epiphany a few years ago, though, when I was on a friend's boat while he was pointing alligators nearby while talking about the bull shark he recently caught. That's when I realized I was never going near the water again. I will not be sharktogator bait.
posted by Panjandrum at 10:37 AM on November 6, 2012


That Maureen sure gets around!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:17 AM on November 6, 2012


The first shark I see pop up was pinged off the coast of Nantucket.

Somehow, this feels oddly appropriate.
posted by Spatch at 11:21 AM on November 6, 2012


I'm impressed that Cyndi, a 14 footer, seems to wander about the ploughed fields near Oudekraal, several miles inland. Probably after the cows, but I'd keep my dog indoors.
posted by mule98J at 11:25 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm impressed that Cyndi, a 14 footer, seems to wander about the ploughed fields near Oudekraal, several miles inland.

She's so unusual!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


There once was a shark who said "Fuck it,"
"I'll eat what they've tossed from that bucket."
So now a transponder
Beeps from the blue yonder
And pings off the coast of Nantucket.
posted by yoink at 12:00 PM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]


That's weird. I can actually see a parody of "Gangnam Style." It appears to be airborne and passing directly over all of the sharks.
posted by drjimmy11 at 12:33 PM on November 6, 2012


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