Great White Shark Heading For Britain Says Satellite Tracker

Massive Great White Shark Spotted 'Heading For Britain'

Jaws is coming for Britain.

A monstrous Great White shark has been spotted via an online tracker heading straight for the British and/or Irish coast (or, rather, swimming around relatively close) .

According to the Ocearch satellite tracker the 15-foot, 2,000lb carnivorous fish -- named Lydia -- is heading in our direction.

The satellite-tagged shark is currently barely 1,000 miles from the coast of Ireland and Cornwall, and could reach us within three days - theoretically.

Ravenous predators, Great Whites are the largest and most notorious of all the carnivorous sharks. They are usually found on the coasts of South Africa, Australia, California and Hawaii, among many other areas, but do not usually swim as far north as Britain.

But Lydia seems to have a different plan. She has swum more than 19,000 miles since her tracking device was fitted near Florida, and so far she seems intent on tasting the sweet waters of the British isles, or Europe, or maybe just this side of the mid-Atlantic ridge.

Admittedly, it's possible that Lydia will turn back before sliding into the Thames Estuary and cruising under Tower Bridge to take a gawp at Big Ben.

Above: researchers are tracking Lydia as she comes closer

But even if she only manages to cross the mid-Atlantic ridge, she will have still made history as the first recorded Great White to officially cross the Atlantic.

"We have no idea how far she will go, but Europe, the Med, and the coast of Africa are all feasible," said Dr Gregory Skomal, senior fisheries biologist with Massachusetts Marine Fisheries.

The aim of Ocearch is to "generate previously unattainable data on the movement, biology and health of sharks to protect their future while enhancing public safety and education."

You can follow Lydia's progress at the Ocearch website. But we suggest you prepare yourself - the Met Office had predicted warm weather this weekend, but it looks like we might be in for a sharknado instead.

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