Meet Unama'ki, the 2,000-Pound Great White Shark Who Reached the Keys

Unama'ki was tagged in Nova Scotia in September and made her way south along the U.S. East Coast

A massive great white shark that weighs over 2,000 pounds made its way from Nova Scotia, where it was tagged, down to the Florida Keys in just over a month.

According to OCEARCH, a nonprofit research organization that tags sharks to keep track of their movement and activity, the 15-foot-5-inch adult female "pinged" just off the coast of Key West on Saturday morning.

She's been named Unama'ki, a term meaning "land of the fog" in the language of the indigenous Mi'kmaq people of Nova Scotia.

OCEARCH stated on its website that it hopes Unama'ki will lead them to the site where she gives birth, exposing a new white shark nursery.

Little is known about the reproduction habits of great white sharks. A 2016 expedition off the coast of New York resulted in OCEARCH tagging nine baby white sharks, leading them to believe New York waters could be a nursing area.

Unama'ki was tagged in Nova Scotia in September and has been making her way south along the U.S. East Coast. She's the second largest white shark the group tagged in the northwest Atlantic.

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OCEARCH / R. Snow
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