http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/us/14shark.html
They've only had these sharks for two years, and they've lost two of them in the past five months. The article says that in the only other place the species is on display, in Asia, a study found that the average captive lifespan among 16 captive whale sharks was 502 DAYS. I dunno, they seem to be pretty expensive (and rare) goldfish at that rate.
I dunno, normally I support *good* zoos and aquariums whose emphasis is on research and conservation, and who take exemplary care of their animals... but if the Georgia aquarium is having this much trouble with whale sharks I feel it's becoming irresponsible to keep them (they just shipped over 2 more from taiwan). Any thoughts?
They've only had these sharks for two years, and they've lost two of them in the past five months. The article says that in the only other place the species is on display, in Asia, a study found that the average captive lifespan among 16 captive whale sharks was 502 DAYS. I dunno, they seem to be pretty expensive (and rare) goldfish at that rate.
I dunno, normally I support *good* zoos and aquariums whose emphasis is on research and conservation, and who take exemplary care of their animals... but if the Georgia aquarium is having this much trouble with whale sharks I feel it's becoming irresponsible to keep them (they just shipped over 2 more from taiwan). Any thoughts?