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WHALE SHARK DIES AT GEORGIA AQUARIUM
ATLANTA (Jan. 11, 2007) – Ralph, one of the four whale sharks rescued by the Georgia Aquarium, died unexpectedly Thursday evening, Jan. 11, 2007.
Earlier in the day, Ralph stopped swimming and the Aquarium’s husbandry and veterinary team moved him into an underwater stretcher in the Ocean Voyager gallery and immediately administered emergency care.
“Our staff is grieving from the loss at this time,” said Jeff Swanagan, President and Executive Director. “We are grateful we had the opportunity to give Ralph two extra years of life and bring four million people face to face with whale sharks for the first time.”
Ralph, who had grown to 22 feet in length, had lived at the Georgia Aquarium since June 2005 along with Norton. Alice and Trixie, two female whale sharks, were added to the Aquarium in June 2006. The whale sharks came from Hualien, Taiwan, where an annual quota of whale sharks is harvested for food. Through a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium and the Taiwanese government, the whale sharks were removed from this quota and brought to the Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is the first aquarium outside of Asia to house whale sharks and was the only one in the world to have four on display.
Recently, Ralph’s behavior caused concern among the team due to his unusual behavior, including loss of appetite and abnormal swimming patterns. During the last few weeks, the Aquarium team performed regular medical exams to monitor the whale shark’s health.
Since the Georgia Aquarium opened in November 2005, four million people have viewed the whale sharks, increasing the knowledge base of these animals worldwide. In November 2006, the Georgia Aquarium demonstrated its continued commitment to the understanding of aquatic animals by conducting routine physical exams on the four whale sharks as part of an effort to establish a baseline of normal biology in whale sharks. These exams were the first of their kind, and information learned was shared with researchers throughout the country and added to the database being developed to understand the zoogeography of whale sharks.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be performed to try to determine the cause of death. The results will also allow the Aquarium to advance the knowledge of the species, about which very little is known.
About Whale Sharks
The whale shark is the world’s largest fish, reaching lengths of up to 66 feet. This species of shark, known to the scientific world as Rhincodon typus, is a gentle filter-feeding species. Found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters, the whale shark is gray to brown in color with light yellow or white markings and a white belly.
Despite its large size, the whale shark is harmless to humans and considered a relatively solitary creature. It has a wide mouth with approximately 3,000 small teeth at the front of its wide, flat head and swims slowly at the surface to feed on plankton and small fish.
Its behavior and basic biology, such as where it travels in the oceans, reproduces and feeds during different life stages, are not well known.
About the Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world’s largest with more than eight million gallons of water and more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The mission of the Georgia Aquarium is to be an entertaining, educational and scientific institution featuring exhibits and programs of the highest standards, offering engaging and exciting guest experiences and promoting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity throughout the world. For additional information, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org
Thats a shame, I'll look forward to what infomation the autopsy brings, in terms of why it died, and general information about the species. There are a couple of people who work there on the board, maybe they'll have something to add.
WHALE SHARK DIES AT GEORGIA AQUARIUM
ATLANTA (Jan. 11, 2007) – Ralph, one of the four whale sharks rescued by the Georgia Aquarium, died unexpectedly Thursday evening, Jan. 11, 2007.
Earlier in the day, Ralph stopped swimming and the Aquarium’s husbandry and veterinary team moved him into an underwater stretcher in the Ocean Voyager gallery and immediately administered emergency care.
“Our staff is grieving from the loss at this time,” said Jeff Swanagan, President and Executive Director. “We are grateful we had the opportunity to give Ralph two extra years of life and bring four million people face to face with whale sharks for the first time.”
Ralph, who had grown to 22 feet in length, had lived at the Georgia Aquarium since June 2005 along with Norton. Alice and Trixie, two female whale sharks, were added to the Aquarium in June 2006. The whale sharks came from Hualien, Taiwan, where an annual quota of whale sharks is harvested for food. Through a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium and the Taiwanese government, the whale sharks were removed from this quota and brought to the Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is the first aquarium outside of Asia to house whale sharks and was the only one in the world to have four on display.
Recently, Ralph’s behavior caused concern among the team due to his unusual behavior, including loss of appetite and abnormal swimming patterns. During the last few weeks, the Aquarium team performed regular medical exams to monitor the whale shark’s health.
Since the Georgia Aquarium opened in November 2005, four million people have viewed the whale sharks, increasing the knowledge base of these animals worldwide. In November 2006, the Georgia Aquarium demonstrated its continued commitment to the understanding of aquatic animals by conducting routine physical exams on the four whale sharks as part of an effort to establish a baseline of normal biology in whale sharks. These exams were the first of their kind, and information learned was shared with researchers throughout the country and added to the database being developed to understand the zoogeography of whale sharks.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be performed to try to determine the cause of death. The results will also allow the Aquarium to advance the knowledge of the species, about which very little is known.
About Whale Sharks
The whale shark is the world’s largest fish, reaching lengths of up to 66 feet. This species of shark, known to the scientific world as Rhincodon typus, is a gentle filter-feeding species. Found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters, the whale shark is gray to brown in color with light yellow or white markings and a white belly.
Despite its large size, the whale shark is harmless to humans and considered a relatively solitary creature. It has a wide mouth with approximately 3,000 small teeth at the front of its wide, flat head and swims slowly at the surface to feed on plankton and small fish.
Its behavior and basic biology, such as where it travels in the oceans, reproduces and feeds during different life stages, are not well known.
About the Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world’s largest with more than eight million gallons of water and more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The mission of the Georgia Aquarium is to be an entertaining, educational and scientific institution featuring exhibits and programs of the highest standards, offering engaging and exciting guest experiences and promoting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity throughout the world. For additional information, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org
Thats a shame, I'll look forward to what infomation the autopsy brings, in terms of why it died, and general information about the species. There are a couple of people who work there on the board, maybe they'll have something to add.
One of the things that happens here on MFK is people get told that their tanks are overstocked. Now even the Georgia aquarium gets told that! Well, i'm sure that they were going to purchase a bigger tank as soon as they got the money together!!!
