Nicole - Richard Peirce

On 7 November 2003 a female 3.8-metre Great White shark was tagged near Dyer Island in South Africa. On 28 February 2004, her tag released itself 37km south of the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia. The shark, which would later be named Nicole after Nicole Kidman, had swum an epic 11,000 km on her transocean journey, and prompted a rewrite of the life history of these powerful apex predators. Scientists were even more surprised when she was positively identified back in South Africa near Dyer Island in August 2004 - meaning she had covered 22,000 km in less than nine months, using pinpoint navigation both ways.Many Great whites have since been tagged since and shown to have undertaken long migrations; but Nicole's journey preceded later mass tagging efforts by 7-8 years.This story incorporates a mix of science and actual events with conjecture as to what might have happened on the shark's journey.Sharks are among the most persecuted animals on earth and Nicole's block-buster story will provide a vehicle for promoting awareness and putting perspective into the plight of sharks.