Whale Shark dies in GA Aquarium

windmill

Member
duh
what? were they expecting it to live a long, healthy and happy life in a fishbowl? and then they have the nerve to cremate it so other aquatic life that would've benefitted from it's death can't
stupid humans; quit doing destructive stuff for the sake of entertainment
 

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by windmill
duh
what? were they expecting it to live a long, healthy and happy life in a fishbowl? and then they have the nerve to cremate it so other aquatic life that would've benefitted from it's death can't
stupid humans; quit doing destructive stuff for the sake of entertainment


Sorry, but this realy seems like an odd thing to say, considering this is a board for keeping aquariums, and we are effectively doing similar things on a smaller scale.
And at least these places are doing various research and educational programs. What can we say about our tanks, and the animals that live a far shorter life than they would in the wild?
Please disregard if you only by aquacultured everything
 

ophiura

Active Member
Ralph and Norton, the aquarium's other male whale shark, arrived in June 2005 from Taipei, Taiwan, where they had been destined to become seafood.
Guess they lived longer then they were expected to...
Anyway, as for the cremation, a couple of points. First, this animal will be studied, and much can be learned from it I am sure.
I am assuming that you figure it should be dumped in the ocean, a la a "whale fall" that sustains lots of life in the sea. But, regardless of whether the fish is alive or dead, it is not appropriate, IMO, to rerelease it into the ocean. There is the risk of introducing pathogens into an environment that are not native to it. It would, IMO, be irresponsible to do anything but learn from the remains, and cremate it.
However, calling it "Ralph"????
 

team2jndd

Active Member
Originally Posted by windmill
duh
what? were they expecting it to live a long, healthy and happy life in a fishbowl? and then they have the nerve to cremate it so other aquatic life that would've benefitted from it's death can't
stupid humans; quit doing destructive stuff for the sake of entertainment
If you actually read the article you would see that the whale sharks werent just caught for the purpose of this aquarium they were rescued from becoming "seafood". Whales, like humans can die from disease as well as other things that are beyond the control of the aquarium. These whales arent meant to spend their entire life in captivity. The one that died, "ralph" was only 22 feet long which is less than half their max length. I dont consider the research that these aquariums do to further our understanding of such animals can be called destructive for the entertainment. Trust me, most of these researchers would be much happier if they could leave these animals in the wild and still learn as much about them.
 

robosapien

Member
team2jndd], Hit it right on the nose the Whale sharks were actually suppose to have became food. Apparently its a popular dish in Taiwan. If you know anything about the aquarium then you would know about the 4R program they run. A lot of there animals on exhibit are actually rescued animals. Like the whale sharks. Two of their Beluga whales were rescued from a declining amusement park in Mexico city. The park was bought out about 3 years, and the new owners thought the tank they held the whales in to be small. So they worked with the Atl. Aquarium to have them transfered.
 
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