What's the Shark Equivalent of Burning Man?
Something is drawing this marine predator to a particular gathering spot in the Pacific.
For decades, biologists thought white sharks were mostly solitary. But researchers now know that they amass at a remote ocean hot spot every spring. The question is: Why?
Motivated by mysteries that remain after 20 years of research, a dozen scientists led by Stanford biology professor Barbara Block headed out to sea this spring on a monthlong trip to study one of the oddest hangouts on the planet—a section of the deep ocean that researchers have dubbed the White Shark Café.
Halfway between Hawaii and Baja California, hundreds of the large predators congregate. Block and her team are trying to figure out why. Is it for sex and companionship, a tasty snack or something else?
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