Thursday, March 31, 2005

Great White Shark On the Loose!

I received this from the Monterey Bay Aquarium:
"After careful consideration and planning, we removed the white shark from the Outer Bay exhibit early this morning and released her in the open waters just outside Monterey Bay at 5:45 a.m.Two factors led to this decision. First, the shark was rapidly approaching a maximum size and weight at which she could be safely removed, transported and released with full confidence that she would thrive. Second, aquarists observed a marked change in her behavior over the past week of what they considered to be active hunting of other exhibit animals and they became substantially more concerned about the well-being of the other fishes. She was not released because of any injury or health problem. At the time of her release, she was 6'-4" long and weighed 162 pounds. That means she grew more than a foot in length and gained 100 pounds in her six months on exhibit. She was healthy and strong when she swam away from the boat. "

I saw this shark on exhibit, we went right away when it was announced they had one in Monterey. She was tremendous, and so different than the other sharks. But I could sense her agitation, this is a creature not meant to be pent-up for long. I hope that they do not start trying to capture great whites just because the museum attendance went up by 30% since she was on exhibit. Sharks hold a deep resonance in many cultures around the world and represent the primal hunter that is within all of us, never resting, always on the prowl, looking for the next kill, never able to relax or have many friends. I'm glad that she was with humans for a bit, so that we could learn more about great whites, but I'm very glad that they've released her back into mama ocean once more.

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