Whale Shark Died At The Aquarium
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This is terrible!!
R.I.P
R.I.P
Wow!! This is shocking news. Which whale shark died?
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sucks
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Aww its such shocking news I had no clue anything was even wrong with Ralph
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Awe! :aww:
This now makes 2 major deaths in the last 2 wks: Ralph and Gasper.
This now makes 2 major deaths in the last 2 wks: Ralph and Gasper.
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I was there yesterday when they closed ocean voyager (3:50pm) and we knew something was up, but I didn't think it would be this tragic. Very sad.
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I was just there Tuesday! All looking great! I believe I got a picture of all 4 together infront of the main window! I need to check, I'll post the pic when I find it!
I will be working sunday with todd. I will be in OV from 9:30 to 1:30 PM. If any one wants to come say hello, feel free. I will likely be armed with more information then.
Anyone have good stories of Ralph???
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I loved when the ARC got our behind the scenes tour in March and we got very close to Ralph and Norton. We were able to see the "Nike Swoosh" on Ralph's right shoulder and watching them swim so gracefully from above is one of most cherished experiences at GAI.
He will be sorely missed....
Anyone have good stories of Ralph???
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I loved when the ARC got our behind the scenes tour in March and we got very close to Ralph and Norton. We were able to see the "Nike Swoosh" on Ralph's right shoulder and watching them swim so gracefully from above is one of most cherished experiences at GAI.
He will be sorely missed....
I am very saddened to announce that Ralph, one of our four whale sharks, died unexpectedly Thursday evening, Jan. 11, 2007. Earlier in the day, Ralph stopped swimming, and our husbandry and veterinary team moved him into an underwater stretcher in the Ocean Voyager gallery and immediately administered emergency care.
Recently, Ralph’s behavior caused concern among the team due to his unusual behavior, including loss of appetite and abnormal swimming patterns. During the last few weeks, the team performed regular medical exams to monitor Ralph’s health.
Since we opened in November 2005, four million people have viewed the whale sharks, increasing the knowledge base of these animals worldwide. In November 2006, the Georgia Aquarium demonstrated its continued commitment to the understanding of aquatic animals by conducting routine physical exams on the four whale sharks as part of an effort to establish a baseline of normal biology in whale sharks. These exams were the first of their kind, and information learned was shared with researchers throughout the country and added to the database being developed to understand the biology of whale sharks.
Ralph, who had grown to 22 feet in length, had lived at the Georgia Aquarium since June 2005 along with Norton. Alice and Trixie, two female whale sharks, were added to the Aquarium in June 2006. The whale sharks came from Hualien, Taiwan, where an annual quota of whale sharks is harvested for food. Through a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium and the Taiwanese government, the whale sharks were removed from this quota and brought to the Georgia Aquarium. We are the first aquarium outside of Asia to house whale sharks, and we were the only one in the world to have four on display.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be performed to try to determine the cause of death. The results will also allow the Aquarium to advance the knowledge of the species, about which very little is known. In keeping with our commitment to be a world leader in promoting efforts to conserve aquatic wildlife, we will also continue to conduct worldwide research and conservation efforts on whale sharks and other aquatic animals.
With the death of Ralph, once again we are faced with a time of frustration and sadness. I know that the two recent losses leave us all emotionally spent, and each of us is grieving in our own way.
Unfortunately, nature doesn’t accord us a schedule of events and can be cruel with back to back tragedies, such as these we have just experienced. I know you understand that many of our 125,000 animals will experience their entire life cycle here, and together we will celebrate the births and mourn the losses.
As always, I thank you for your commitment to the Georgia Aquarium.
Jeffery S. Swanagan
Executive Director, Georgia Aquarium
Recently, Ralph’s behavior caused concern among the team due to his unusual behavior, including loss of appetite and abnormal swimming patterns. During the last few weeks, the team performed regular medical exams to monitor Ralph’s health.
Since we opened in November 2005, four million people have viewed the whale sharks, increasing the knowledge base of these animals worldwide. In November 2006, the Georgia Aquarium demonstrated its continued commitment to the understanding of aquatic animals by conducting routine physical exams on the four whale sharks as part of an effort to establish a baseline of normal biology in whale sharks. These exams were the first of their kind, and information learned was shared with researchers throughout the country and added to the database being developed to understand the biology of whale sharks.
Ralph, who had grown to 22 feet in length, had lived at the Georgia Aquarium since June 2005 along with Norton. Alice and Trixie, two female whale sharks, were added to the Aquarium in June 2006. The whale sharks came from Hualien, Taiwan, where an annual quota of whale sharks is harvested for food. Through a partnership between the Georgia Aquarium and the Taiwanese government, the whale sharks were removed from this quota and brought to the Georgia Aquarium. We are the first aquarium outside of Asia to house whale sharks, and we were the only one in the world to have four on display.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be performed to try to determine the cause of death. The results will also allow the Aquarium to advance the knowledge of the species, about which very little is known. In keeping with our commitment to be a world leader in promoting efforts to conserve aquatic wildlife, we will also continue to conduct worldwide research and conservation efforts on whale sharks and other aquatic animals.
With the death of Ralph, once again we are faced with a time of frustration and sadness. I know that the two recent losses leave us all emotionally spent, and each of us is grieving in our own way.
Unfortunately, nature doesn’t accord us a schedule of events and can be cruel with back to back tragedies, such as these we have just experienced. I know you understand that many of our 125,000 animals will experience their entire life cycle here, and together we will celebrate the births and mourn the losses.
As always, I thank you for your commitment to the Georgia Aquarium.
Jeffery S. Swanagan
Executive Director, Georgia Aquarium
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