Betsy the Great White Shark Swimming St. Pete's Waters

Check out the video of Betsy’s tagging at the bottom of this post.

Betsy, a highly traveled great white shark, has resurfaced in the Tampa Bay area just in time for spring.

The 12-foot, 7-inch, 1,400-pound critter was last tracked by Ocearch to a location off St. Petersburg’s coast, according to the group’s website. That check-in with the still growing great white occurred on April 5.

Ocearch is a nonprofit organization that is dedicating to researching sharks and other apex predators. The group has tagged and released dozens of sharks and provides regular updates on their whereabouts via its website.

Since Betsy was tagged by Ocearch in August 2013 off the coast of Cape Cod, she’s traveled more than 6,450 miles. The critter was the first great white tracked by Ocearch to appear in the Gulf of Mexico, WTSP reported.

See Also:

• Huge Florida Shark Swarm Caught on Film
• Katharine the Great White Shark Returns to Florida
• Photo: Big Bobcat Drags Shark Onto Florida Beach
• Great White Attacks Fishing Boat

While Betsy is paying the Bay area a visit, Katharine, perhaps Ocearch’s most written about great white, is reportedly swimming in the waters off the North Carolina.

Over the past two years, Katharine has followed a migratory pattern that takes her from the Massachusetts coastline south along the eastern seaboard. She’s also ventured into the Gulf of Mexico with her arrival making headlines last summer.

Great white shark encounters in the Gulf aren’t entirely unheard of, but they’re rare. The species prefers cooler waters, Dean Grubbs, of Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory, explained to News-Press last summer.

To keep up with Betsy, Katharine and other sharks’ movements, check out Ocearch online.

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