Bucky's Baby

Satellite Tracking of Sharks off Florida's Gulf Coast

A project of Mote Marine Laboratory.


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Movement of a bull shark (Bucky's Baby) tagged in Boca Grande Pass, Florida on May 1, 2010 with a SPOT4 satellite tag.

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Species: Bull Shark
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Female
Release Date: 2010-05-01 14:50:00
Release Location: Boca Grande Pass, Florida
Last Location: 2010-05-10 09:40:06

Background

On the first day of the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge (May 1, 2010), a large bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) was caught by Team Peter's Restaurant (Bucky Dennis & Jimmy Willis). This adult female was possibly pregnant and an ideal candidate for satellite tagging by Mote Marine Lab's research team. The tag was attached to the shark's first dorsal fin such that it would be able to transmit whenever the shark was at the surface of the water. These transmissions provide precise location and movement information that will contribute to our understanding of the habitat preferences of this important marine predator.



Bucky Dennis of Team Peter's Restaurant hooks-up with a bull shark while Jack Morris of Mote Marine Lab anticipates a tagging opportunity. Also pictured on the fishing boat is competitor Jimmy Willis and tournament observer Jim Lugiewicz.




Dr. Bob Hueter works to attach the satellite tag to the shark's first dorsal fin.




Dr. Bob Hueter (near) and Jack Morris (far) quickly work to finalize the tag's attachment while Dr. Nick Whitney (with gloves) holds the shark steady.




Underwater view of bull shark during tagging process.


The following is additional information on 'Bucky's Baby' and bull sharks in general:

* 'Bucky's Baby' had a total length of 8 feet 2 inches (2.48 m) and an estimated weight of about 400 lbs (181 kg).

* Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) can grow to 11 feet (3.4 m) in length and weigh more than 500 lbs (230 kg), although in Florida they rarely exceed 9 feet (2.7 m).

* 'Bucky's Baby' is an adult female and may have been pregnant at tagging.

* After a 10-11 month gestation period, mother bull sharks deliver from 1 to 13 baby sharks (pups) that measure about 27 inches (69 cm) long at birth.

* Pregnant bull sharks are known to enter river mouths in the late spring or early summer to deliver their young. After giving birth, the mother sharks leave. There is no parental care of the young.

* Bull shark pups often spend their first weeks or months in the brackish water of a river where there is abundant food and few predators. These habitats are called bull shark "nursery areas."

* In the Charlotte Harbor area, the Caloosahatchee, Peace, and Myakka rivers function as nursery areas for the bull shark.

* The bull shark is currently listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as “Near Threatened."

* Although bull sharks have been implicated in serious attacks on human swimmers, such attacks are exceedingly rare.

* Bull sharks are found in nearshore, estuarine and river environments worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions.