So … Starting with an apology

So this week, I got a notice from Alina Machado (@AlinaCNN) and Javier de Deigo (@JaviCNN)  from CNN that they were about to go live with a piece on me for CNN's "@NewDay."

This was huge news since I've gotten smatterings of coverage across the U.S. (A LOT IN FLORIDA) about my journey since the Ocearch tagging.

So I make sure I get on CNN as soon as possible to see the piece. AND it was #Jawsome... Click here to see for yourself...

But then the segment ended and was tossed back to New Day cohosts Kate Bolduan (@KateBolduan) and Chris Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo). Kate turns to Chris and says "You know I'm really interested in how they give them their names. What would you nickname a shark?" and Chris responds with "I don't know, dangerous? toothy? landshark?"

I stopped watching at that point. And the twitter feud began....

Yeah... That was me on @CNN @NewDay this morning. #sharkworld #sillyhumans Really? #toothy?
— Katharine The Shark (@Shark_Katharine) June 19, 2014

And I may have gone over the top when I posted...

Ok, last time I'll mention it @ChrisCuomo ... #sharkworld #sharkgirl #nicesmile do you eat seals too? pic.twitter.com/M0clcmdDUD
— Katharine The Shark (@Shark_Katharine) June 19, 2014

There was a lot of back and forth and the conversation ended with Cuomo thinking I was out to eat him or something. Not the case at all.

See, Chris unknowingly struck a nerve.

Since Jaws came out 39 years ago, you human folks have feared us, hunted us, thought of us only as mindless killing machines. But we're not mindless. And statistically, when it comes to humans, we aren't killing machines either. And when the adjectives dangerous and toothy rolled off Cuomo's lips, it was like watching the fictional Bruce tear into the kid on the raft. Brutally painful.

My primary mission is scientific, but long term, my role is educating people. And in my first moment in the spotlight, my first moment of national media coverage I thought "yes, here's my chance to say I'm not evil. I'm not going to eat your babies as soon as they stick a toe in the water." Humans and GWS can finally live in harmony... but I may have been a little too hopeful, too soon.

I mean Cuomo could have chosen 1,000 other words  - majestic, sleek, awesome, powerful, beautiful, lovely, hot, sexy beast - all very true and accurate descriptions of me.  #wink

But truth be told... we have A LOT to learn about each other and dangerous is a really good adjective to describe both of our species.

See, my vision isn't always that great. And you lot don't always swim in the clearest water. So if I'm chasing a fish or a turtle or a seal and it swims into murky water, you can guarantee I'm going to follow it. If you're leg is hanging off a surfboard or in my path, it's likely that I could ...er... bump into you.

But those times are the exception.

Since I started my twitter feed, I've maintained, humans are #NotMyFlavor. I did say in my dispute with Cuomo that I would make an exception for him. That was wrong. I wouldn't, and no self-respecting great white shark for that matter, wants to eat people.

I do like to play a good game of "Let's Freak Out the Humans" which usually just means me popping my dorsal fin out of the water for a minute or two and then sit back and watch everyone run out of the surf.

Anyway, the dispute ended:

.@Shark_Katharine @OCEARCH @NewDay we are happy to promote responsible conservation. We need to learn, esp abt ur fangy self.
— Chris Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) June 19, 2014

But as I was explaining to my buddy, Chris Fischer, I may have gone a bit over the top.

So Cuomo, if you read this, I apologize for my over reaction. Maybe one day we can sit down, slice up some seal and have a good laugh.

What does a shark with too much time on her fins do? Starts a blog

Hey, so maybe its the warm water messing with my head or the snapper, mutated by lingering BP oil, I munched on last night, but I got this crazy idea to start posting things here.

For starters, and for all you #sillyhumans that haven't found me on Twitter yet, my name is Katharine. They call me Kat for short. I'm a great white shark who was tagged by the research organization Ocearch in August of 2013.

Since then I've traveled nearly 4,000 miles - from Cape Cod down the Eastern seaboard, around Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. I've popped my dorsal fin out of the water hundreds of times, sending a signal to GPS satellites and creating a ping that Ocearch tracks in real time. 

At first, I thought it was kind of like an ex-boyfriend that wouldn't stop following me (#stalker), but then I found Twitter and discovered more of Ocearch's mission and found my voice. I've talked to all kind of humans - some tiny, some full grown, some really funny, some really scared of me. I'm learning a lot about you. 

But I'll share more about all that history stuff later. 

What you need to know now is that 144 characters aren't enough to answer all your questions. I'll still be on Twitter, but sometimes I just need to explain myself and my thoughts in greater detail - and you know "Ima keep it real."

Thanks for reading, thanks for tracking, thanks for tweeting, but most of all, thanks for keeping an open mind. #ReplaceFearWithFacts.