Shark Takes To Twitter And Becomes Social Media Sensation

Sharks are so hot right now. They make headlines nearly every day, thanks to shows like Shark Week and movies like Sharknado. Now, one shark in particular has taken over the Internet after signing up for Twitter.

Meet, Mary Lee the Shark, @MaryLeeShark on Twitter — she has nearly 60,000 followers and nearly 2,000 tweets.

Yes, Mary Lee, a 3,500-pound great white shark, has a Twitter account charting her progress as she makes her way up the Atlantic coast. She's either traveling to breeding grounds near Cape Cod, or she's already pregnant and heading north to give birth.

Whatever the case, Mary has captured the imaginations of her followers, who are eating up information about the shark's travels.

She also spends time answering questions from her many fans, even the silly ones. For example, the following tweet is Mary Lee's answer to the eternal question "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"

Mary Lee has a tag, making her easy to track. Last week, her tag pinged OCEARCH, an ocean research organization team — and she's been making waves, at least on social media, ever since.

OCEARCH set up the Twitter account for Mary Lee to raise awareness about great white sharks, as well as to educate people about this mysterious species we know little about.

"Someone started tweeting on behalf of Mary Lee the shark and at OCEARCH we're all about including everyone in trying to solve this puzzle, we just started amplifying that and its really taken on a life of its own," said OCEARCH researcher Chris Fischer.

"We're not only solving the puzzle of her life to protect her but we're giving her a voice to shift the tone in conversation around her and other white sharks like her."

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Photo Credit: Elias Levy | Flickr