After 11 days on exhibit, the young white shark brought to the Aquarium last month was tagged and released to the wild on September 7 in offshore waters in the Santa Barbara Channel.

While she was swimming well in the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit, the shark fed only once during her stay and the Aquarium’s animal care staff decided it was best to return her to the ocean.

"These decisions are always governed by our concern for the health and well-being of these animals under our care," said Jon Hoech, director of husbandry for the Aquarium. "On Saturday, it became clear that it was time to release her."

Like the three white sharks that spent between four and six months at the Aquarium before their release, the newest shark carries a tracking tag that will document her movements in the wild. The pop-up tag will collect information on where she travels, the depths she dives to and the water temperatures she favors for the first 148 days she’s back in the wild. It is scheduled to pop free around late January and deliver those data via satellite.

Only four more days until our "Uncover the Mystery of the White Shark" webcast! Tune in to learn all about the white sharks we’ve had on exhibit, and to hear our white shark experts talk about the mysteries surrounding the ocean's most famous predators.

Register for the webcast.

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The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a non-profit institution.