does not play well with others

Zeo · Post by **Zeo** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:18 pm

"The larger she grew, the more that human safety and animal welfare concerns became a factor in our thinking"

well duh shit.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... tive_shark

Monterey Aquarium Releases White Shark

Fri Apr 1, 2:50 PM ET Science - AP

By MATTHEW FORDAHL, Associated Press Writer

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."

The predator had killed two soupfin sharks earlier this year, although aquarium officials weren't sure whether the shark was hunting at the time. After close observation this week, researchers noticed it was starting to exhibit true hunting behavior.

"We've been watching to see if she was actively hunting other animals in the exhibit," Hamilton said. "When we saw clear signs on Monday, we decided an immediate release would be best."

Aquarium staff released the shark south of Monterey Bay. Its movement will be tracked for 30 days with an electronic tag that was attached before its release.

During its stay in Monterey, the shark had grown from a length of 5 feet and a weight of 62 pounds to 6 feet, 4 inches and 162 pounds. It was about a year old when it was caught.

The aquarium acquired a wealth of information on how best to care for the animals in captivity.

Mark Berman, assistant director of the International Marine Mammal Project at the Earth Island Institute, applauded the release. The San Francisco group is leading efforts against keeping dolphins, orcas and other advanced sea life in captivity.

"In the future, we think the Monterey Bay Aquarium and others should work on protecting these species in the wild," he said. "I'm sure they now have valuable footage and data they can utilize without having to bring another (shark) in."

The aquarium, however, said it will try to find another young great white shark for the exhibit later this year. It also is expanding other research that involves tagging and tracking the animals.

The aquarium, which opened in 1984 at the site of an abandoned fish cannery, saw attendance jump 30 percent after the shark arrived.

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:25 pm

Fucking morons...

They just talked abnout how violent she had become...and then they want to get ANOTHER one this year...

:fucktard:

Zeo · Post by **Zeo** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:40 pm

I certainly hope they were expecting all along that she would start stalking and killing off other fish.
oOooh! She's hunting her pool neighbors! Gosh! Never saw that one coming!
After all, she is on top of the aquatic food chain in the wild and all.
Maybe before they get another 'pet' they might consider giving it it's own tank.
A really big one.
And feed it live pigs. That would be cool to watch.

4X541N7 · Post by **4X541N7** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:09 am

Zeo wrote:I certainly hope they were expecting all along that she would start stalking and killing off other fish.
oOooh! She's hunting her pool neighbors! Gosh! Never saw that one coming!
After all, she is on top of the aquatic food chain in the wild and all.
Maybe before they get another 'pet' they might consider giving it it's own tank.
A really big one.
And feed it live pigs. That would be cool to watch.

Russo · Post by **Russo** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:22 am

The Fallen · Post by **The Fallen** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:00 pm

Russo, you fuckin rock

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:23 pm

One more frat boy down...

QueenOfTheFlock · Post by **QueenOfTheFlock** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:46 am

Great Whites definitely don't belong in captivity. Too bad it didn't bite one of the workers.

Someday though, I hope to go down in a shark cage and see them up close. I love sharks.

Coor · Post by **Coor** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:24 pm

Well..for the last 20 something years of research they have been trying to get the approval to get one in captivity...so this is technically a big break through...but still stupid as shit.