Great hammerhead shark dies in Las Vegas Strip casino aquarium

[NVMojo]

LAS VEGAS — A great hammerhead shark introduced amid fanfare into a Las Vegas Strip aquarium a year ago has died of an intestinal infection, hotel officials said Friday.

The 6-year-old female shark died late Thursday despite medication and veterinary treatment prompted by a display of unusual behavior, said Jack Jewell, curator of the Shark Reef attraction at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.

The 7-foot, 100-pound great hammerhead had been described as the only one of its species on display at a closed-system aquarium. It had been captured off the coast of Florida and flown to Las Vegas in August 2001.

more...

http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=87856

[oldhat]

1. So what?

[Skittles]

2. aw.......................it's sad

they shouldn't be casino entertainment

[oldhat]

4. I don't care about hammerhead sharks.

[DeepGreen]

6. I am sad that you don't care

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[DeepGreen]

12. bighting my tongue !!!!!!

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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[DeepGreen]

14. So are you getting your kicks or what ??

:grr:

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[DeepGreen]

18. And,,, your point ??????

[Name removed]

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[DeepGreen]

20. Go Away !!!!!!

I am tired of this !!!!!!!
You are who you are and now I know.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

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[Skittles]

28. you're sick

nt

[Renew Deal]

56. Looks like I missed a lot of fun.

:nuke:

[Forkboy]

57. Nah,just oldhat embarrasing himself

[Skittles]

60. he sounds like an ignorant republican

nt

[Forkboy]

61. He sure did

[Forkboy]

24. here's the problem

:)

[Dark Secret]

40. Keep Eating them and the Mercury Levels will render you brainless

[Forkboy]

58. Judging by the deleted responses he's already eaten to much

[0007]

48. ...they oughta throw all them other dirt ball suckers in the soup

and let the poor on the West Side have a field day.

[Forkboy]

8. Niether do the assholes who put it on display

for rich white trash.

[Skittles]

27. well then perhaps you should refrain from responding to threads about them

me, I do care

[amber dog democrat]

35. I have seen them in Fl in Key West

They're amazing. I really don't think these majestic fish ought to be kept in captivity.
Not for crass entertainment especially. My question is where do we draw the line on what species we DO care about ?

On a tangent, I have become very interested in arachnids - especially the great centipedes. It makes me wish I could have seen some of their ancestors from the Devonian and Carboniferous eras - especially Euripides but my point is that its largely out of now knowing about these creatures - do most people have these attitudes.

[Straight Shooter]

47. I saw them when I visited Florida, too, many years ago

Made my heart race, they are so primitive-looking. But you know, they probably eyeballed me and thought, "Ugh, primitive species!" :P

[The Stranger]

52. Then don't waste the bandwidth posting on threads about them.

[NVMojo]

3. that's what!

[DeepGreen]

5. Of course, an aquarium was more important than freedom!

I wish we all respected the lives of all animals as much as we do our own !!!

[Lucky Luciano]

7. These animals are martyr to some extent

When children see animals at the zoo/aquarium (AKA Animal Jail sometimes) it can endear them to animals and make th efuture generations want to protect the animals/environment.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

10. Exactly- but why do we need to conserve species?- sharks iz evil !

I know the reason,
just being sarcastic on behalf of the lower primates.

[DeepGreen]

11. or it can teach them that animals can be captured and penned up.

I saw a bear once in a small cage about 7 by 7. He lived there on display for years. I always felt sorry for that bear.
I wonder how many children felt sorry for or even saw the
Hammerhead ? I understand what you are saying but along with teaching children about what animals exist there should be more teaching about respect for life. We all come from the same earth - animals included . If we do not respect it, we are in deep trouble as will be future generations.

[Lorien]

29. I know what you mean about those awful cages

but I don't know how good/ bad the aquarium is at the casino. If properly tended, most fish do quite well in some of those massive indoor aquariums (like the one we have at Disney; it's enormous and quite impressive). Obviously, animals like dolphins will never thrive in captivity, but fish are another matter entirely.

If you ever get a chance, visit Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. They have some of the happiest caged animals you'll ever see. They rotate the cages (which are large, and blend into the landscape well), they do daily enrichment, with the aid of guests (very few people are allowed to visit each day), they get great medical care. You've never seen so many bouncy, chuffing tigers, panthers, snow leopards, lynxs, servals, etc. You can even go into some of the smaller cat's cages; they're very friendly and playful. Freedom is always best, of course, but not all animals who are caged are continally suffering. What we need to work on first is preserving the environment and critical habitats, and if zoos can help people to care about that, then let's push for the most humane zoos possible.

[barb162]

41. Albert Schweitzer said something similar, about respecting all

animals. Yes it is good you felt for that poor bear in that tiny cage. Cruelty to animals is sociopathic

[NVMojo]

15. just remember, Vegas will do almost anything to keep people in casinos

even if it means caging something up in side the casino cages for the caged gamblers to watch.

[LeftyMom]

17. That's terrible.

I love sharks. Having them in reputable aqariums where people can learn about them and how to help conserve them is a good thing, IMO. I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example. They've had a juvenile White Shark on display since September. She's growing and eating well, when last I heard. Seeing a lovely animal like that helps people to realize she and her kind deserve awe and not fear.

I somehow doubt a casino is the best place to display a shark. Nobody goes to a casino to see them let alone to learn about them. They're a living (well, not anymore, poor thing) swiming decoration.

OTOH, if thier theory is correct and he died of an infection caused by a bite during prolapse, that could have happened in the wild too. It would probably be less likely though, just because he'd likely have more space to himself.

[NickB79]

31. A white shark? As in great white?

Or is this a different species? I thought great whites had never been successfully held in captivity. If it survives, I hope they have a BIG tank for it (and they make sure the seal exhibit is far, far away :-) )

[pinniped]

32. Monterey Bay Aquarium has had a great white shark on display...

since September. ( Carcharodon carcharias ) She's in a 1 million gallon tank.

Pretty cool, I went to see her in September and I'm going next week as well.

http://mbayaq.org/cr/whiteshark.asp

[tinanator]

37. Hey pinnped

familiar with Ken Norris?
just curious.

[pinniped]

38. No, he works at Monterey?

.

[LeftyMom]

55. Yeah. It's awesome.

If I recall correctly he previous record was 13 days at Sea World in San Diego. The problem with captiv ewhite sharks is that they usually won't eat. Here's a chart of white shark captivity efforts and how they went. http://homepage.mac.com/MOLLET/Cc/Cc_captive.html Here's info on the white shark at Monterey Bay. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/whiteshark.asp If you check there site there's a webcam for the tank she's in. It's not shark cam it's the outer bay. It's hard to tell the size of it, it's three stories high and very wide and deep.

I'd be the first to throw a fit if she wasn't thriving but she seems to be doing well so far. I've seen her twice in person and she's just lovely.

[Baconfoot]

22. Both having and lacking freedom requireTHEcapacity 2 representTHEself n/t

[flordehinojos]

23. it is sad that an animal which should have been out in the wild blue

waters was captured and kept in an aquarium... i would never want to encounter a shark out in the ocean while swimming--and i am sure neither would anyone, however, to just keep a shark in an aquarium seems to be cruel--at least to me.

[amber dog democrat]

36. Does anyone here dive ?

This is where i had the privelledge so see some of the more tame shark varieties close up. On a nice reef with lots of diversity and color you never know what your're going to see, but one is always grateful for it.

[TahitiNut]

45. You called?

Yup. I've logged just over 100 open ocean dives, more than half in the Caribbean or around Tahiti with pelagics.

My very first open ocean dive was at 65' (with 100' viz) at a shark feed. The dive instructors tied off a Bonita(?) head to a rock outcropping. The divers, myself included, held to the bottom in a "peanut gallery" array. We had anywhere from 35 to 50 sharks swimming over and around us, mostly reef sharks between 6' and 9' long. They were awesome ... perfectly designed swimming/eating machines. They'd swim just out of arm's length and eye us as they swam back at the fish carcass.

I've dived with probably seven or eight different species of shark, including some lemon shark of about 12' to 15' long. I was an avid underwater videographer and I've got many hours of Hi8 video of my dives with shark and playing with Moray eels and other critters. It's been one of the most awesome and rewarding activities I've ever engaged in.

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

25. "It was bacteria that killed the beast..."

Man's greed & nature DO NOT mix.

JB

[Placebo]

26. Well I'm sure the shark was given the best of care.

I mean, you're not going to spend all that money to get a rare shark into your space and then treat it poorly.

Oh well, if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

[DerBeppo]

30. It's somewhat interesting...

that there are so many posts condeming them for having this aquarium without ever having seen it.

The Mandalay Bay aquarium in IMMENSE. It's not just an aquarium, but large spaces for different types of reptiles and other animals. The shark tank is built around and below a deck that appears to be a large pirate ship.

The Shark Reef is home to more than 1,200 different species, including 15 different species of sharks, tropical and fresh water fish, reptiles, marine invertebrates and rays.

more than 105,000 sq. feet. definitely something that needs to be seen when in vegas.

[Cooley Hurd]

33. If the shark could talk...

...I'd bet that it would say it liked its old home more than its new home.

For the record, I really dislike zoos, circuses and aquariums...:grr:

Born free!

[Forkboy]

59. I could care less

makes no difference to the shark.

[blindpig]

34. as a former zookeeper

I find the display of wildlife for cheap hucksterism disturbing and wrong.

That said, zoos and aquariums do have an important place in the effort to preserve biodiversity. The most important mission is education and quite honestly propaganda. Animal Channel is well and good but there is nothing like being up close and personal to the beast to elicit empathy, particularly if knowledge of the creatures life and situation in the world is provided. I know it shaped my life.

That these institutions have in the past and in some cases continue to provide sub-standard facilities is not disputed. The zoo where I worked had some piss poor caging, particularly for elephants and anthropoid apes. To be honest these are species that should not be kept in zoos as they are to varying degrees sentient, IMHO. But there are many species that are or could be provided decent lives under zoo conditions. Consider them ambassadors of Gaia.

Zoos and aquariums have the additional mission of providing the facilities and stock for last ditch efforts at saving species from extinction. Captive breeding programs are not to be relied upon, maintaining sustainable wild populations is by far preferable, but they sometimes are successful and beat the alternative.

[rodeodance]

39. many zoos are doing a better job in providing a better habitant--but, like

most things--so much more needs to be done. It is the money for most zoos that put things on hold.

[blindpig]

44. indeed

my former employer, the Baltimore Zoo, is on the verge of being closed down. More colateral damage from bu$h tax policy.

[Solly Mack]

42. Sad

:(

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

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[davsand]

46. I recognize why some some zoos and aquariums are criticized.

I agree fully that some of them do not provide habitat for the animals that maintains both mental as well as physical health. It is deplorable, and it is something that needs to be changed.

HOWEVER, a zoo or aquarium may be the ONLY opportunity that a lot of people ever have to see certain species. I understand that it is not ideal--that it'd be a whole lot better to see those animals in their natural environment--but those environments are being lost rapidly, and most folks can never afford to travel extensively.

My kid would never have seen a live lion or any primates living here in the Midwest--except we have made it a point to take her to see these animals. We have also made it a point to explain that we have to work harder at preserving these (and all other) species along with their natural habitat.

My kid has been to places like Shedd Aquarium and the Indianapolis Zoo, and she has had an opportunity to learn both respect for the animals as well as the environment.

Is that ideal? No, I'd much rather have been able to take her to Africa or to some offshore reef, but we don't have THAT kind of money.

If you find a place that you feel provides sub standard care for the animals then fight to change THAT.


Laura

[TahitiNut]

49. There's no line of animals awaiting housing in zoos.

I'm only aware of ONE zoo or aquarium that the captives are willing to leave and then return to, and that's the dolphin encounter. In every other case, the animals run like hell the first chance they get. I guess they don't read the advertising brochures very well. :silly:

[davsand]

50. How many folks want to go back to jail?

You make a good point--and I have not disputed that zoos and aquariums are not optimal.

What I am trying to say is that we need to do better with those zoos and aquariums simply because I think seeing any species live makes it more immediate.

Being in the physical presence of those animals makes the destuction of their natural habitat that much more of a crime. It also makes it that much more important to people to protect those animals.

Laura

[TahitiNut]

51. Agreed.

:pals:

[sportndandy]

53. Human legacy of death for entertainment purposes

We deserve no better.

I again refer DUers to Erik Schlosser's Fast Food Nation. Why do so many have to die just so people can ENJOY food? Can't you just eat to live, rather than living to eat?

[Catchawave]

54. What's really sad....

She was captured just for the purpose of displaying. Most large aquariums don't have to do that anymore, and work with rehabbers for their displays. That is, sea animals that can no longer survive in the wild.