San Juan, Mar 6 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- A great white shark weighing 908 kilos (2,000 pounds) returned Friday to the waters of the northern Bahamas, where a GPS device on the marine predator confirmed it had wandered earlier, the non-profit OCEARCH organization said.

 

OCEARCH confirmed via a Twitter post that the 4.4-meter (nearly 14.5-foot) female shark named Lydia has been tracked since March 2013.

 

Lydia has traveled more than 55,500 kilometers (34,500 miles), the organization said.

 

OCEARCH tracks various sharks around the world and has created a Web site that allows visitors to track the locations of Lydia and other species at all times.

 

Great white sharks gained widespread public attention following the release of the 1975 blockbuster film “Jaws,” based on the like-named novel by Peter Benchley. EFE

 

Sharks tagged and monitored by OCEARCH have been tracked swimming long distances to Costa Rica; alas, they have not been as lucky as Lydia. The Costa Rica Star has previously reported on the fate of one of these tagged sharks:

 

Beamer was a blue shark that used to enjoy swimming in the chilly waters off Montauk, New York. Last year, Beamer began swimming south towards the Caribbean and made it to the eastern Antilles by Christmas. The shark then made a straight swim towards Puerto Limon in Costa Rica; alas, Beamer ended up hooked on  the lines of a commercial fishing boat somewhere between Portete and Moin.

 

The demise of Beamer was confirmed by Randall Arauz of PRETOMA, an organization dedicated to the conservation of marine ecosystems in Costa Rica. OCEARCH reported that Beamer was caught by one of more than 3,500 lines cast by a commercial fishing boat in a 60 miles radius. Mr. Arauz of PRETOMA confirmed this information and visited the fishing crew to retrieve the electronic device Beamer had been tagged with.