Great white gets too close for comfort

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CNN/WJXT) - Authorities and scientists are tracking a great white shark off the coast of Florida.

Jacksonville police are urging people to stay out of the water.

The shark, named Mary Lee, entered the surf zone Tuesday morning, prompting the warnings.

Mary Lee is a 16-foot 3,400-pound great white shark, and late Monday night she was 200 yards off Jacksonville Beach.

Jacksonville Beach police are advising people not to get in the water while the great white is around.

"I think that's a great idea," said a beachgoer. "I wouldn't get in the water, either."

Around lunchtime Tuesday, Mary Lee had turned east and popped up about 15 miles off Jacksonville's coast.

"The chances of encountering this one individual shark on a whole stretch of coastline are pretty minimal," said Mike McCallister, a University of North Florida researcher. "But again, there is that possibility."

Another great white, Genie, is much farther away -- about 30- to 60 miles off the Florida coast.

The great whites were tagged last September by researchers in Massachusetts.

The two sharks are wearing special GPS tracking devices on their dorsal fins that allow researchers to see their routes.

University of North Florida research biologists are studying the great whites’ track as part of a new white shark research program on campus.

"It's a large, collaborative multiagency effort between UNF and researchers in Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries," said McCallister. "It's a pretty unique opportunity for UNF and unique for Florida."

Throughout the past month, Mary Lee has stayed between 10- and 20 miles off the East Coast.

There's no telling where she'll turn up next, but Monday she was a little too close for comfort.

You can actually track the shark yourself at the OCEARCH website or on its Facebook page.