Great White Shark That Was Unusually Closer To UK Than US Hasn't Been Spotted In Over A Year

The great white shark that was unusually close to the UK hasn't been spotted in over a year.

A 17ft female shark named - Nukumi - became the second known shark in history to cross the Atlantic for British shores.

For those unaware, it's ridiculously rare for a migratory species like great white sharks to cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is basically a barrier in the middle of the ocean.

The only other great white shark to do this was Lydia, back in April 2014.

Anyway, last year, Nukumi was spotted just 1,700 nautical miles off British shores and, at the time, experts admitted: "She is capable of reaching the UK coast."

SWNS

Experts believed the reason for why she went on the move was because she could be pregnant, and is looking for a place to give birth away from her aggressive male counterparts.

OCEARCH's chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter previously said: "At this point in her track, Nukumi has crossed from the western Atlantic to the eastern Atlantic over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the dividing feature between west and east. 

"She has been swimming eastward for about two months since she left the U.S. coast off the state of North Carolina. 

"As of her last known location, Nukumi was still about 1,700 nautical miles from the UK. 

"Now, that is less than her distance from the U.S. coast, so she is capable of reaching the UK coast."

SWNS

He added: "But we would not predict that she will do that, as white sharks are rare off the UK. 

"If she does not turn back soon, she might go to offshore islands or seamounts in the eastern Atlantic, places like the Azores. 

"Or perhaps she will head towards the opening into the Mediterranean Sea, as there are white sharks in the Med. 

"But again, none of our other sharks have done that. All of this is speculation that awaits more tag locations.

"If she behaves like other sharks that have showed a similar pattern, she will make a turn and loop back into the western Atlantic. 

"But we have only watched a few sharks do this, so we can't say for sure that Nukumi will follow the same migratory pattern until she gives us more locations from her satellite tag."

Despite Dr Bob's analysis, Nukumi hasn't been seen in over a year.

She was last spotted on 11 April 2021.

We're not quite sure what happened to Nukumi but hopefully, if she was pregnant, all went well.