The Monterey Bay Aquarium is lucky to have a great white shark on display. The animal was captured as bycatch in a flounder net off the coast of Southern California. Lucky an aquarium research vessel was close to the ship that caught her when the call came in that a live great white was caught. The shark was rescued from the fishing boat and put into a 4 million gallon sea tank where researchers monitored her health. She started to eat in the net tank and she seemed healthy, so the decision was made to bring her to Monterey to try putting her on display. 37 times previously did other aquariums try to display great white sharks... they all failed. The longest held in captivity was 17 days before the shark was released due to non-eating. She rode from SoCal to NorCal in a special flatbed truck. Upon arrival on Sept 15, she was added to the 1 million gallon display tank at the aquarium, she behaved normally, and quickly started to learn how to navigate in her new home. That first day, she ate.. not once but four seperate times! Never had this been successfully done before! Since being on display, she consistently eats and appears not to be interested nor bothered by her tankmates. She has been on display ever since. I went to see her today. I have always had a great respect for great whites... to be honest they scare the snot out of me! One of mother natures perfect predators! She is small, and still impressive. I am happy I took the time to see one, up close.
She is a little over 4'6" and weighed about 60 lbs when she arrived. Only time will tell how long she will be at the aquarium. It was a special treat to see her none-the-less! Here are some pictures I took while there... Enjoy!
