Just 44 days after a young white shark left the Monterey Bay Aquarium, he's cruised past Cabo San Lucas and is swimming for the warm waters off the coast of mainland Mexico.

The shark's speed has astonished researchers who are tracking his progress through electronic tags.

"To travel that far, that fast was totally unexpected," said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry at the aquarium. The juvenile shark, accidently caught by a commercial fisherman Aug. 4 off Ventura, is the third released from the aquarium. The first, a female released in 2005, spent 30 days traveling from the Monterey Bay to waters north of Santa Barbara. The second, a male, reached Cabo 90 days after his release in January 2007.

The shark released Feb. 5 after spending 162 days at the aquarium made the same trip in less than 40 days, according to a tag that updates researchers via satellite every two days.

For information, visit www.montereybayaquarium.org or www-marine.stanford.edu/block.htm.