Why no aquarium has a great white shark
Video Overview & Insights
Many have tried to keep a white shark in captivity. Here's why that's so difficult.
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There are several aquariums around the world, including one in Georgia, that house whale sharks, the biggest fish in the sea. But not one has a great white shark on display.
The Great white Shark Attack the sunfish
Aquariums have made dozens of attempts since the 1970s to display a captive great white shark. Most of those attempts ended with dead sharks.
By the 2000s, the only group still trying was the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which spent a decade planning its white shark program. In 2004, it acquired a shark that became the first great white to survive in captivity for more than 16 days. In fact, it was on display for more than six months before it was released back into the ocean.
Hear me out, not being able to contain great whites isn’t a problem to be solved, it’s a sign that they are meant to live in the ocean without human interference…
In the following years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium hosted five more juvenile white sharks for temporary stays before ending the program in 2011. It was an expensive effort and had come under criticism due to injuries that some of the sharks developed in the tank.
Responding to those critics, Jon Hoech, the aquarium's director of husbandry operations, said: "We believe strongly that putting people face to face with live animals like this is very significant in inspiring ocean conservation and connecting people to the ocean environment. We feel like white sharks face a significant threats out in the wild and our ability to bring awareness to that is significant in terms of encouraging people to become ocean stewards."
such a waste leave them aloneeee
Check out the video above to learn why white sharks are so difficult to keep in captivity and how the Monterey Bay Aquarium designed a program that could keep them alive.
Link to the Biodiversity Heritage Library: https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/albums
disgusting.
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I'm terrified of sharks but this is sad
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Zoos and aquariums are far from ideal but they serve a purpose. For plenty of people, the only information and opinions on conservation come from their experiences at these places. Would the public care so much about Killer whales had it not been for the elevated status derived from Sea World and other aquariums and the subsequent backlash through the media? I think not. Sharks, same thing, Shark week and the general social media and documentaries have done wonders for shark shining a light on conservation.
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These creatures don’t deserve or can be locked up. Either way, very informative.
More User Perspectives
Shark video from Vox… hm
@St4rlightEqLeave them alone! Humans ruin anything good
@redemption.GMonterey Bay aquarium had one I seen it back in 2009
@Pancho_Grande5:41 we call sharks something similar to “sea dogs” in turkish. we say köpek balığı which is literally dog fish. köpek=dog balık=fish (becomes “balığı” with the suffix)
@nylainmaybe let’s just leave the shark be in the ocean and mind our own business. this is the greed they talked about in the bible
@22toothfairy22They video didn’t really explain why they kept dying.. it’s just told us that keeping them in a tank just kept killing the
@azntakumiIt’s because they have frikin blazers on their heads
Duh
How about... leave them alone?
@HeyauthorsI have one in my aquarium in Animal Crossing actually
@laz2182-p8ozoos are evil, got it.
@adamazzalino5247Leave em alone is my take.
@adamazzalino5247I’ve seen one in an aquarium but idk if it lasted long
@JasperfemboiiThis is just mean
@fernandomaiasilvadias8199They are so beautiful and majestic.
@MermaidMusings7😢
@julylady24We are the aliens
@AurmazlZudehI love sharks, they are very interesting to me. However, I'd never pay money to watch an animal be tortured just for my own interest it is truly shocking just how entitled and unconcerned human beings can be as long as they get what they want. People today would never pay money to watch another human be tortured but justify giving money to see an animal be tortured over and over, I love watching videos of sharks in their natural environment and one day i'd love to have the chance to go diving and see these amazing animals in real life not in a glass box being taunted by children and entitled adults. Humans are truly the most devastating invasive species this planet has ever housed.
@Angel-mi6qsSounds like sharks need Swim Spas, not tanks 🤔
@Packrat559Saw a great white at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not a big one. But still cool to see.
@bryanvickersThis is so incredibly cruel.
@ruby-gw5ef“Introducing the general public” to any captive animal is never going to be a laudable goal. It’s barbaric, exploitative and greedy. This NEVER will be justifiable.
The people who do it and the people who pay to watch it are financing suffering, pain and death. PERIOD. There’s no grey zone in this.
Calls it a success but it died after how long?? 6months? ….. ok gotcha
@666bagelGreat white sharks. Not white sharks
@cameronvanrooyen4027South Africa has
@cape2838I am so glad they couldn’t be in captivity and used for profit and they can’t be abused like dolphins and orcas in captivity it’s a great thing people stop capturing sharks now they just need to stop killing them the top of the food change should always stay the way it is people don’t need a hunt predators
@lamilkman1796JOSS FONG
@tendayforecast:(
@laultimacocadeldesertI love the Steinhart Aquarium! Honestly the Bay Area has some great aquariums… the Steinhart is great though because of all the different exhibits they have, the albino alligator was one of my favorites to visit. Monterey bay is cool too because of the open sea experience, sea creatures are in the wild and can swim around freely. Obviously not every exhibit is like that but it’s an awesome concept.
@lisalove991The fact that they didnt even plan for them to survive until adulthood...
@unofficialsagestill kind of left question unanswered
@jamesmurray8725Wow its almost as if they should have left them tf alone
@modernraeganWow its almost like these sharks have natural instincts to travel across the ocean and can't be put in cages?
@Kitty_of_Wisdomugh the Okinawa shark dying in 3 days what a waste of a perfectly good life
@yonnieizzyImagine you are so magical that you don’t belong to the human city life
@laytara_Not to toot my own horn, but my Animal Crossing aquarium has a great white 😌😌
@OverwriteXWhy can’t we just leave them alone
@EmilyVillajadi kenapa aquarium gaada yg tampilin white shark : gampang mati
@indirect213Because they're not supposed to be in tanks?
@ainainbisati215Not necessary to keep them in captivity. Period. Leave them allone or save them in nature!
@bellablock5864Why no great white shark has an aquarium
@NarevaOfficialIt’s almost like animals were meant to exist in their natural habitat and not cages!
@firstworldproblemsmusic