There does not currently exist an aquarium large enough to hold a great white, much less a whale shark. I can't help but wonder how thick the glass is, how large the aquarium is, and what is supporting it.
There does not currently exist an aquarium large enough to hold a great white, much less a whale shark. I can't help but wonder how thick the glass is, how large the aquarium is, and what is supporting it.
What? There are indeed issues with keeping great whites in captivity, especially with getting them to feed properly and keeping them from ramming into the glass. This hasn't stopped aquariums from displaying whale sharks though. Whale sharks are still rare to see in aquariums, but several aquariums keep them long-term. You can visit a whale shark in Osaka, three in Okinawa, and one in Kagoshima. There are also four whale sharks in Atlanta and several throughout China and Taiwan. In fact, the aquarium in Okinawa is working on trying to get their whale sharks to breed right now.
For great whites, the most successful attempts were with juvenile sharks, none of which stayed in an aquarium for over 200 days. Getting them to eat in captivity proved extraordinarily difficult, and the sharks were easily disoriented by imperfections in the glass, leading them to bump into it frequently. The first moderately successful attempt to keep one in captivity was in 2004. This shark did well in captivity and was kept for 198 days. She grew more and more aggressive as she aged and grew larger. Her release was prompted when she started killing the other sharks in the cage.
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