1st of November 2005
Mysteriously and worriedly, Nicole has not yet been observed in South Africa this year. She was last spotted one year ago, on the 2nd of November 2004, nearly one year after she was tagged with a PAT satellite tag.
Nicole has been a very regular visitor to the area around Dyer Island since 1999, with several observations recorded every year during the months of July through December. Hence, her absence appears as being very unusual, and our worries for her welfare are not exaggerated.
But then, again, maybe she is running late from her potential trip to Australia again... and we must remember that she is now approaching a size (and age) when she might become sexually mature. Present knowledge suggests that female White Sharks become sexually mature between 450 and 500 centimetres in length, but Nicole only measured an estimated 380 cm when we last observed her. We must however keep in mind that our knowledge about White Shark biology (and all 400 species of Sharks) remains extremely and painfully limited, so we might well be mistaken and White Sharks may well become sexually mature at an earlier size/age. Could Nicole have found love in Australia? Or did she find love in South Africa during her last visit and is now spending her long (14-20 months) gestation period in Australia? We do not know...
Anyway, the next couple of months will be crucial... we will devote our main attention upon Nicole in our field research around Dyer Island, and you will be the first people to know if we see her... So keep visiting this page on a regular basis for possible updates!