ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Videos
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Where biggest male great white shark ever recorded is now after location tracker pings
Home>News>Animals
Published 20:55 8 May 2025 GMT+1

Where biggest male great white shark ever recorded is now after location tracker pings

He's a big boy

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Good news shark fans, the biggest ever male great white shark has been located once again, and he's gone a long way since he last checked in.

If lions are kings of the jungle, then great whites are almost certainly contenders for the kings of the sea. There's not many aquatic animals to have such an iconic series of films focused entirely on them after all, unless you count the clownfish in Finding Nemo.

Sharks don't exactly have the best reputation and its easy to see why so many people see them as powerful killing machines that will attack whenever they smell blood.

There's a reason why they're so often the villains, apart from in Shark Tale of course.

Advert

Sadly, Jack Black's character is not the reality when it comes to sharks and scientists have been keeping a close eye on a particularly dangerous great white, that has been officially recorded as the biggest male great white shark in history.

Contender might sound like he's going to sign up for Gladiator, but he's unlikely to be allowed to compete, given that he stands at a frankly ridiculous 13 ft and 9 inches, weighing in at 750kg.

Now you might be thinking that surely makes him not just the biggest male great white in history, but the biggest of any gender, but you'd be wrong.

Female great white sharks are usually several feet longer, with the biggest in history registering measuring in at 20 feet in length and around 2,000kg in weight.

Contender is a whopper (OCEARCH)
Contender is a whopper (OCEARCH)

Now, I'm sure even the biggest shark fan out there wouldn't want to get too close to Contender but if you're wondering which beaches you need to stay away from, then I have the answer.

Although he was recently knocking about near Florida, it seems he's gotten sick of hanging about with the Disney adults down there and has instead headed north up the American coast.

The latest ping of his travel log was registered on the evening of 5 May, close to the North Carolina coast, meaning he's swam well over 600 miles in the past month alone.

He's a big lad. (OCEARCH)
He's a big lad. (OCEARCH)

If you're wondering what a ping means, well Ocearch describe it as 'when the shark spends only a brief period of time at the surface. The signal is sent and received by an Argos satellite' which then provides the rough location, much like tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

So, given that Contender probably spends much of his life below the surface, he may well have moved on again in the few days since he last popped up for a quick look. Maybe stick to the swimming pools if you're a swimmer in North Carolina.

Featured Image Credit: OCEARCH

Topics: Sharks, Animals, US News

James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse

James is a NCTJ Gold Standard journalist covering a wide range of topics and news stories for LADbible. After two years in football writing, James switched to covering news with Newsquest in Cumbria, before joining the LAD team in 2025. In his spare time, James is a long-suffering Rochdale fan and loves reading, running and music. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@JimmyMoorhouse

Recommended reads

Here's how much prize money every team earned from the 2026 World CupIan MacNicol/Getty ImagesConor McGregor reveals full extent of 'quite shocking' injury after UFC comeback ended in disasterChris Unger/Zuffa LLCArgentina players branded a ‘disgrace’ as they turn their backs on Spain during World Cup trophy liftElsa/Getty ImagesThe 'Drake curse' is alive and well after rapper's huge World Cup final bet backfiresCarmen Mandato/Getty Images

Advert

  • Scientist reveals how much more 'biggest ever male great white shark' could still grow
  • Rare footage captures Orca pod brutally paralysing great white shark and ripping out its liver
  • Devastating reason you will never see a Great White Shark in an aquarium
  • Diver torn to death by 13ft great white shark in horror attack

Choose your content:

28 mins ago
2 hours ago
4 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
    28 mins ago

    Here's how much prize money every team earned from the 2026 World Cup

    Even teams knocked out in the group stage were given millions

    News
  • Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
    2 hours ago

    Conor McGregor reveals full extent of 'quite shocking' injury after UFC comeback ended in disaster

    He's revealed the full extent of the injury that stopped his UFC comeback in under two minutes

    News
  • Elsa/Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    Argentina players branded a ‘disgrace’ as they turn their backs on Spain during World Cup trophy lift

    Argentina players appeared to turn their backs on Spain during the World Cup trophy presentation

    News
  • Carl Recine/Getty Images
    6 hours ago

    Donald Trump joins Spain World Cup trophy lift in unbelievable scenes

    Trump hung around the Spanish team after handing over the trophy

    News