July 22, 2017
There's a new great white shark that may be joining you on your weekend trip down the shore.
Hilton, the male shark who's 12-and-a-half feet long and weighs 1,326 pounds, was "pinged" Friday night about 60 miles off of Atlantic City, according to OCEARCH, a nonprofit that researches the animal.
The shark, who was only tagged by the nonprofit in March off the coast of Hilton Head, South Carolina, has his own Twitter account with a whopping 12,000 followers.
"Good thing I had some $ in my backpocket," read a post from the account Friday night. "Now who want to play some blackjack with me?!?!"
Good thing I had some š²in my backpocket. Now, who wants to play some blackjack with me?!?! @OCEARCH @ChrisOCEARCH pic.twitter.com/GMgjGLxUVa
— HiltonTheShark (@HiltonTheShark) July 22, 2017
A "ping" is when the shark's tag, which is attached to its dorsal fin, breaks the water's surface and transmits a satellite signal.
OCEARCH details the movement of hundreds of sharks on it website tracker, which shows that Hilton's last "ping" at 10:21 p.m. Friday may be coming in closer to shore, though there's no telling where he's heading.Ā
Hilton's not the only famous shark that OCEARCH keeps track of. Mary Lee, a 16-foot, 3,456-pound great white, spent a bit of the summer patrolling the East Coast, too, swinging by the Jersey shore in time for this past Memorial Day weekend.
Can't get enough? Read more about Mary Lee from PhillyVoice's Kevin Shelly here.
Still not enough? Friendly reminder that Shark Week on the Discovery Channel starts Sunday.
