Fabulous reads – Dive into the dark side of a shark’s life

Nicole, Richard Pierce, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9781775845348

SHARKS are among the most persecuted animals on Earth. Nicole’s block-buster story highlights the shocking details of the trade in shark fins, and raises awareness of the plight of sharks in the 21st century.

In November 2003, a female Great White Shark was tagged near Dyer Island in South Africa. Her tag popped up in February 2004, just south of Western Australia. The shark, later to be named Nicole (after shark enthusiast Nicole Kidman), swam an epic 11 000 km. Scientists were even more surprised when she was identified back in South Africa in August 2004 and had covered 22 000 km in less than nine months, using pinpoint navigation both ways.

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Since then, many Great Whites have been tagged and have shown a propensity for undertaking long migrations – but none have matched Nicole’s amazing feat.

This story incorporates a blend of science, actual events and real people, along with conjecture as to what might have happened on Nicole’s momentous journey.

Richard Peirce has been involved in shark conservation for more than 25 years. He was chairman of both the Shark Conservation Society and the Shark Trust for more than 10 years, and has recently re-joined the Trust as a Trustee. Richard has written several books on sharks, and also penned The Poacher’s Moon, which looks at rhino poaching and Giant Steps, a book that deals with elephants kept in captivity.

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