Um dos quatro tubarões-baleia mantidos em cativeiro no Aquário de Atlanta, morreu sem causa aparente. Após a morte reascendeu a discussão sobre a manutenção de certas espécies de tubarões e raias em cativeiro. A autópsia ainda não revelou a causa da morte. Veja as notícias que foram publicadas sobre o assunto clicando em "leia mais". Foto: John Bazemore

Ralph, one of four whale sharks in the Atlanta aquarium, had not been eating well and had been showing unusual swimming patterns, officials say.

The 22ft-long (6.7m) fish was in effect only "a teenager", and the cause of his death was not immediately known.

Ralph arrived at the aquarium in 2005 from Taiwan, where he had faced becoming seafood.

He and Norton - the aquarium's other male whale shark - arrived together and were joined a year later by two females, Alice and Trixie.

Gasper, one of the aquarium's five beluga whales, was also put down 10 days ago after months of declining health.

Gasper and another 12ft-long Beluga whale, Nico, came to the aquarium from Mexico City, where they had lived in an exhibit surrounded by a large wooden roller coaster.

The aquarium, said to be the world's largest, houses more than 100,000 specimens.
Whale sharks are the world's largest fish, growing up to 50ft long.


Shark death sparks renewed debate on captivity

By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/12/07
No matter which side they fall on — supporting or opposing keeping animals in manmade habitats — scientists and environmentalists are eagerly awaiting word on what might have killed Ralph, the whale shark.
Marie Levine, executive director of the Princeton N.J.-based Shark Research Institute, said it's too early to speculate.

"It could have been a congenital abnormality that would have killed it in the wild," Levine said. "We just don't know."

The Georgia Aquarium has three surviving whale sharks on display in its Ocean Voyager exhibit. It is the only aquarium outside Asia to display whale sharks.

"They are swimming fine," aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said of the other sharks Friday. "We don't see any problems with them."

Ray Davis, the aquarium's senior vice president for zoological operations, said scientists had detected some "on and off feeding" by Ralph in the days preceding his death. But that's not unusual in sharks, Davis said. In the wild, they often go days and even weeks without feeding.

Davis said about a dozen people were involved in Friday's necropsy on the 22-foot, polka-dotted Ralph. He said it could take weeks of lab work to determine what killed the shark.

Meanwhile, aquarium officials will watch the other whale sharks.

"We'll keep more eyes on them because we don't understand what happened to Ralph," Davis said. "Until we understand that we need to be at heightened observation."

Levine's organization initially opposed the aquarium's original plan to acquire whale sharks from Belize. The aquarium eventually abandoned that effort and bought its whale sharks from Taiwanese fishermen, who harvest the big sharks for food. Because the sharks were taken from the Taiwanese whale shark quota, their relocation to the Georgia Aquarium was seen as a "rescue."

Still, Levine said, whale sharks — the biggest fish in the ocean — often have not fared well in captivity. Japan has had the most success — an aquarium in Okinawa has kept the animals alive for more than a decade.

"Historically, they have not survived in captivity," Levine said in a telephone interview Friday morning. "This is an extremely rare animal. We were really hoping this would be a successful project."

Scientists know little about the huge sharks, which can grow more than 40 feet, and which swim in most of the world's warm oceans, generally as solitary creatures They had hoped to study them at the Georgia Aquarium.

Some early attempts to place the big sharks in aquariums in Asia were ill-conceived, biologists say, and the animals had little chance to survive. However, Japanese biologists refined tank designs and diets for their whale sharks, apparently ensuring their longevity.

The Georgia Aquarium used those advances to construct the whale shark's 6.2-million gallon tank and design their diet of krill, vitamins and gell food, a gelatin-like supplement that contains nutrients and foods the sharks eat in the wild.

The tank was designed to hold up to six full-grown whale sharks. Scientists had hoped to eventually breed Ralph and his tankmate Norton to the aquarium's female sharks, Trixie and Alice. Whale sharks have never been bred in captivity.

Sky Lantz-Wagner of Marietta said he was shocked to learn of Ralph's death. Lantz-Wagner's ecotourism company, Dove6, transports tourists to swim with whale sharks off the Yucatan Peninsula.
"It's a tragedy for a person who is inspired by whale sharks to see one of the most magnificent, mysterious animals anywhere die in captivity. It raises a lot of questions about keeping animals this large in captivity."

Lantz-Wagner, who is a season pass-holder at the aquarium, said he has seen Atlanta's whale sharks four times since the aquarium opened. He said he has mixed feelings about keeping them in capitivity.

"I think it's great that people have access to whale sharks and I'm one of the biggest fans of the Georgia Aquarium," he said. "But we have to find a balance between our interests and their interests."



Necropsy Performed on Dead Whale Shark

By CHARLES ODUM

Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA — The first necropsy on a whale shark in the United States was performed Friday at the Georgia Aquarium following the animal's sudden death Thursday night. The 22-foot whale shark, Ralph, was one of the first two whale sharks to be held in captivity in North America.

The aquarium's executive director, Jeff Swanagan, said there is no certainty the examination of Ralph's remains will explain the cause of his death.

"It could be when they open the animal up and they look at its organs, they may see something real quick," he said. "It could take weeks or it could be that none of the results are conclusive."

After the shark stopped swimming Thursday, the aquarium staff moved it to another part of the tank and immediately began trying to revive him, but he died eight hours later, Swanagan said.

One of four whale sharks at the 1-year-old aquarium, Ralph showed no sign of trouble in his normal examination two months ago, but Swanagan said he recently began swimming in unusual patterns and was not eating well.

Ralph's death came less than two weeks after the death of the aquarium's beluga whale, Gaspar.

Gasper suffered from a bone disease contracted before he was taken to the aquarium in 2005. Ralph had no known disease, and Swanagan said there is no connection between the two deaths.

"While we're saddened and obviously a bit emotional to do this, we have to put on our scientific hat and make sure we learn from this for the benefit of the other three animals in our care and share that information with others in Asia," he said.

Swanagan said 15 or more experts would take part in the necropsy, which he said was expected to last all day Friday.

"With our partnership with the University of Georgia's veterinary college and other collaborating scientists, we're going to gain a lot of information out of this," he said.
Following the procedure, the shark will be cremated, Swanagan said.

Ralph and Norton, the aquarium's other male whale shark, arrived in June 2005 from Taipei, Taiwan, where they had been destined to become seafood. They were joined a year later by two females, Alice and Trixie, in their 6 million gallon (23 million liters) tank. They are the only whale sharks on display outside of Asia.

Whale sharks are the world's largest fish, growing more than 50 feet (15 meters) long.
Swanagan said the aquarium's remaining three whale sharks "are swimming normally and we see no problems with them."

The aquarium was open for normal business hours Friday.



Whale shark necropsy shows no "obvious" cause of death

The Associated Press – ATLANTA

A necropsy of one of the Georgia Aquarium's prized whale sharks did not reveal any obvious causes of death, but the investigation is continuing and could take months, aquarium officials said Saturday.

Ralph, one of four whale sharks at the 1-year-old aquarium, died Thursday night. It was the second death of a popular exhibit at the aquarium in 10 days. Officials said the whale shark stopped swimming Thursday afternoon and died later that night.

The necropsy took 12 hours, as officials from the aquarium, the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and the Sarasota, Fla.-based Mote Marine Laboratory examined the whale shark and took samples for future tests, said Ray Davis, senior vice president of zoological operations for the aquarium.

"We don't have any immediate findings. There was nothing that we could say _ no obvious things were in place _ to say this was the cause of death," Davis said Saturday. "This caught us by surprise. We did not have any expectation this was going to happen."

Davis said the three other whale sharks _ Norton, Alice and Trixie _ still are on exhibit in their 6-million-gallon tank.

"We have not seen a change in these animals that indicates there is a problem. The life support system has been analyzed and reviewed, as well as previous records," Davis said.

Aquarium spokeswoman Donna Fleishman previously said Ralph had not been eating well and had some unusual swimming patterns before his death. The aquarium staff had moved the 22-foot shark to another part of the tank after he stopped swimming and immediately began trying to revive him, but he died eight hours later, Swanagan said.

Ralph and Norton, the aquarium's other male whale shark, arrived in June 2005 from Taipei, Taiwan, where they had been destined to become seafood. They were joined a year later by the two females, Alice and Trixie.

They are the only whale sharks on display outside of Asia.

Gasper, one of the Georgia Aquarium's five beluga whales, was euthanized Jan. 2 after months of declining health.

Whale sharks are the world's largest fish, growing more than 50 feet long.
Ralph was considered a teenager. He measured 22 feet at his last examination by scientists two months ago and officials were able to get a more accurate measurement of Ralph on Friday _ 21.5 feet long and weighing about a ton, Davis said.
Aquarium officials previously said there was no sign of trouble in what was Ralph's third exam. Norton has been examined twice and Alice and Trixie once each.

The 17-year-old Gasper had been ill before arriving at the aquarium in October 2005. His health deteriorated further over the past few weeks. That led the aquarium's medical team to put him to death humanely, aquarium officials said.

During the Nov. 6 examination of Ralph, a hose pumped a liquid anesthetic into the water around Ralph's head _ making him nearly unconscious for the two-hour checkup.
Once he was under, veterinarians from the aquarium and Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., took blood samples to test the adolescent shark's hormone levels and studied the inside of his mouth and gills to learn more about how he digested food. They took DNA samples and used an ultrasound machine, with a small, portable computer screen, to check on his internal organs. They also measured him to track his growth.

More than 3 million people have visited the Georgia Aquarium since it opened in November 2005 _ far outpacing attendance predictions.

The aquarium is considered the world's largest, with roughly 100,000 fish and more than 8 million gallons of water.