Second Whale shark dies at aquarium
Picture: Creative Commons
Georgia Aquarium has lost its second Whale shark in five months.Officials at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA, confirmed today that their second Whale shark, named Norton, had to be euthanised after months of illness.
Five months ago, Norton's companion, Ralph, died following the application of a chemical to the water to cure an outbreak of leeches.
After months of illness, Norton's health began to deteriorate dramatically and last week he started to stop swimming. The Aquarium's husbandry and veterinary team took a blood sample, which confirmed his ill health.
The shark was placed on 24-hour watch and by Wednesday had stopped swimming and was resting on the bottom. Divers placed Norton on a stretcher, where further blood tests were undertake.
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"After every option had been exhausted to improve Norton's health, the team made the decision to humanely euthanise him," the Aquarium said.
Jeff Swanagan, the President and Executive Director of Georgia Aquarium, said in a statement: "During the last few months, Norton stopped eating and started to show erratic swimming behaviour.
"In response, exhaustive diagnostic tests were conducted by husbandry and veterinary staff. Supplemental care was provided to Norton, and the Georgia Aquarium team was encouraged and hopeful his condition would improve."
Necropsy
A nine-hour necropsy of the dead shark showed that the fish weighed 1376 kg/3029 lbs when he died and measured 6.52 m/21'5", but the Aquarium claims that the gross necropsy has not revealed any immediate findings indicating the cause of his decline in health.The Aquarium said in a statement: "The Georgia Aquarium believes that the decline in the health of both Norton and Ralph, the whale shark that died in January 2007, is related to their inappetance.
"During the necropsy of Ralph, findings showed that he had an atypical stomach, which was thin-walled and perforated; Norton’s stomach appeared normal.
"Studies will continue to see if there is a link between their inappetance and a series of treatments used in 2006 to manage parasites in the Ocean Voyager exhibit, or if there is another cause.
"The treatment is commonly used in both home and professional aquariums and was used in a conservative manner. As a precaution, the Aquarium stopped using this treatment after the loss of appetite was observed."
The two female Whale sharks, Alice and Trixie, acquired after the problem, and the two acquired last month, Taroko and Yushan, were not exposed to the treatment and are reportedly "eating their complete diet and exhibiting normal behaviour".
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Matt Clarke: 18.6.2007Views: Read 13,834 times
Comments feed
"Stop giving them whale sharks, they are unfit to take care of them."
Posted by: Matt Goldberg - 2 years, 5 months agoDate: Monday June 18th, 2007, 11:49 pm
"I spoke to the Curator of London Aquarium about the matter the other day and he said that they had been unlucky because Whale sharks have been kept long term by an aquarium in Japan.
I don't agree with keeping Whale sharks in captivity though. Wouldn't all those unwanted big tropicals look good in the tank instead?"
Date: Tuesday June 19th, 2007, 9:43 am
"Shame about the death of another whale shark ,but if people didnt go to these aquariums there would be no demand to keep them .After learning about the struggle of captive orcas and large marine life I'm now against these sea prisons . As a keen fishkeeper and diver I believe there are certain creatures that should be left in the seas in a natural habitat for us all to enjoy at a safe distance . I'm not against all aquariums or marine parks just certain ones . More power and financial help should be given for study in the wild ."
Posted by: Ian Ross - 2 years, 5 months agoDate: Wednesday June 20th, 2007, 1:58 pm
"It`s pity for animal.We must pay more attention to it."
Posted by: Ken Chen - 2 years, 5 months agoDate: Thursday June 21st, 2007, 3:04 am
"Aquaria, such as those in Atlanta, do more in a single day to educate the public about the biology and ecology of aquatic and marine environments than any other forum. We spent 2 days last summer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and the whole family, especially our kids, became much more conscious of the state of the world's oceans and fisheries. Any time large numbers of animals are kept in confined spaces there is going to be unnatural stresses and disease outbreaks that might not occur in a more "natural" setting, but I think the net benefit that we receive through education and research far outweighs the costs."
Posted by: E Frigo - 2 years, 5 months agoDate: Thursday June 21st, 2007, 8:53 am
"Lessons have certainly been learned I would say, but at the expense of one of the worlds largest fish.
I suppose it is no different to us keeping fish, just on a massive scale.
It must be very embarrasing for the aquarium, but what can they do?
Do they ship them back to the wild, hold their hands up and say "ok, it didn't work, we made a mistake." or do they keep on trying?
I wouldn't want to be making the decisions on their team, there is way too much responsibility!"
Date: Thursday June 21st, 2007, 9:44 am
"In this day and age it is unacceptable and totally irresponsible for large, public collections to be maintaining such specialised creatures as a whale shark. They are better off being conserved as part of their wild ecosystem rather in an over-sized fish tank.
It is clear that their requirements are not being met in captivity and the collection concerned should rethink its species plan and the whale shark's overall relevance to their aims as a zoological establishment. "
Date: Thursday June 21st, 2007, 11:28 am
"In the case of this aquarium and monterey bay its motives are not money, visitors only fund the aquarium further and pay wages the people in control have a genuine interest in their investments and demand upmost care of their inhabitants. To condemm them in the manner some have is taking a very narrow minded view to what this is all about. every effort will have been made to keep the animals in optimum health, this was just an unfortunate accident. Whale sharks can be maintained long term in captivity (as has been shown in Japan)
As mentioned they will be embarrased enough already without having it rubbed in and I commend them for trying because it may have helped us understand the bits we so far dont about these incredible animals. We can learn alot about conservation of an animal by keeping it in a cpative environment and the money these people spend on educating the public stretches alot further than most realise. Why tar them for the loss of what is essentially at the end of the day two fish out of what i can only assume to be thousands???"
Date: Tuesday June 26th, 2007, 11:14 pm
"I agree with you Tom. its not like they were poorly looked after, underfed or the tank was too small it was a very unfortunate mistake the same as we make mistakes with our tanks at home and lose £1000's worth of fish and some times rare wild caught fish. And i bet the people give the tank the treatment feel bad enough as it is without people pointing the finger.
So i stand by it, that since the aquarium did not illy treat these animals, magnificent and beautiful as they are, it was an accident and theres is no one to blame just something to be learnt. "
Date: Friday July 6th, 2007, 1:57 pm
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 | Editor-in-Chief, Matt Clarke, writes the regular Interesting Imports column on rare and unusual fish in the UK aquarium trade. He's kept fish for 30 years and holds a degree, two higher degrees and two diplomas in fish biology, taxonomy and computational biology. |
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"Giants such as Whale sharks, Great white sharks, et cetera, should never even be considered to be kept in captivity. Because of their sheer size, nature and indeed their own evolution will put limitations on their numbers.
Posted by: Stephen Pell - 2 years, 5 months agoA Whale shark can take up to 30 years to reach sexual maturity. Great whites are nomadic, and their territories can span virtually the entire globe. One of the main problems is that we still don’t have enough information about these incredible animals to properly cater for their colossal needs. The other and most alarming issue is that these beautiful animals are continually being killed by what seems to be sheer incompetence.
Only a few weeks ago, three Black-tipped reef sharks died after being transferred between different Sea Life centres, all because the water they were put into was too cold. Keeping animals such as Whale sharks in captivity will always be a contentious issue, but not everything can or should be kept in a tank. "
Date: Monday June 18th, 2007, 1:13 pm