Even sharks are taking to Twitter now.
Well, those near Western Australia that have been tagged with transmitters, that is. Scientists have put the devices on 320 sharks to issue alerts through the Surf Life Saving Western Australia's Twitter account, GrindTV reported.
Many of the sharks are great whites, so the scientists hope the warnings will keep beachgoers safe. When the tagged sharks come within a kilometer (or about .62 of a mile) to the coast, the transmitters will automatically send a tweet.
In one example, a tweet sent early Saturday morning read: "Fisheries advise: tagged Tiger shark detected at Mullaloo South receiver."
Reaching the account's more than 16,000 followers in real time should help people to decide if they should venture into the water that day.
Officials hope the new system will reach beachgoers much more quickly than older, traditional outlets.
"You might not have got some information until the following day, in which case the hazard has long gone and the information might not be relevant," Chris Peck of SLSWA told Sky News. "Now it's instant information and really people don't have an excuse to say we're not getting the information, it's about whether you are searching for it and finding it."
Reportedly under pressure to increase safety at the beaches, the Australian government recently decided to allow professional hunters to kill large sharks spotted in designated areas.
During the past two years, sharks have killed six people off the coast of Western Australia, including 35-year-old Chris Boyd. The latest victim, Boyd was fatally bitten while surfing last month.
"The safety of human life, the safety of beach goers using our marine environment must come first," Premier Colin Barnett recently told reporters.
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