Monterey Aquarium Releases White Shark

[Dookus]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050401/ap_on_sc/captive_shark_2

SALINAS, Calif. - A great white shark that survived far longer than any other in captivity was returned to the wild Thursday because it was growing too large and had begun preying on other fish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The shark, captured by a halibut fisherman off the coast of Orange County in August, was in captivity for 198 days. The previous captivity record was 16 days.

It was also the first great white to regularly eat outside the wild, putting on 100 pounds while at the aquarium.

"The larger she grew, the more that human safety and animal welfare concerns became a factor in our thinking," said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for the aquarium. "It's more risky to handle a larger animal."

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AAARGH! I live 40 miles away from this aquarium and had meant to go see this shark since they got it. In fact, my bf is finishing his scuba diving class in Monterey this weekend, and I had hoped to go down. I even had free passes from a colleague. And now she's gone :(

[seabeyond]

1. i hope the shark is gone too, as bf is doing scuba classes, lol

i hear there are beautiful scuba places around there. my husband scubas. i lived in carmel valley for a couple three years, love it so. miss it so

[Dookus]

2. oh yeah

the scuba diving here is among the best in the world. It was one of Jacques Cousteau's favorite places. But it's difficult diving - cold water, often murky, lots of surge. But when conditions are good, swimming through a kelp forest is just sublime.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. i think it was a mistake to release it

not only would it have been a HUGE money-maker for the aquarium, its not often scientists have the ability to study a Great White up close.

It was about 6 1/2 feet when released and only a year old. If it survived in captivity for six months or so, it could have done it for quite a while probably. It was a special animal.

I would have liked to have seen it.

[Dookus]

4. If you read the whole article

she had started exhibiting hunting behavior against the other fish in the tank. It's a million-gallon tank, and it's beautiful - but it houses plenty of other fish, including other species of sharks.

Plus, they have human divers in the tank daily to clean and maintain it. It just got too dangerous for the other fish and the people.

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. i know

its just so rare to have a GW just stay alive. Shame. :(

[LeftyMom]

6. They plan to try to get another

Pity you never got to see her in person, she's a lovely animal. We got to the aquarium frequently and it was really neat watching her grow. When she was first exhibited she tended to stick to the lower back area of the tank but eventually she grew more comfortable and cruised around like she owned the place.

I suspect seeing her for the first time might be one of LeftyKid's first memories, the kid is absolutely wild about sharks.

They didn't really have a chice about moving her back out to sea, she was growing fast and continues to show hunting behavior after they moved the soupfin sharks (she'd killed two in the past month.) Sucks about the timing, I just promised my best friend's daughters I'd take them to see her this weekend. :(