The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Central California has placed a feisty new denizen on display: a 4-foot, 7-inch great white shark that was captured recently near Marina del Rey in Southern California (see video below).
The junior apex predator, which weighs only 43.2 pounds, is the first white shark to go on display in two years, and becomes the sixth since 2002. The previous five were released healthy after stays of various length.
The young male shark had spent 13 days in a holding pen off Malibu, while experts made sure he was feeding and tried to determine whether he was healthy enough to make the trip to Monterey. The shark was delivered Wednesday night inside a 3,200-gallon transport vehicle.
Aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson said Thursday that the shark was "navigating well" inside the 1-million-gallon Open Sea exhibit, where it's hoped he'll remain for the next several months.
The historic waterfront facility has been criticized for its capture program because white sharks are protected off California. Some have contended that the program is purely for profit, since the captive sharks attract millions of visitors.
The aquarium has countered that its Project White Shark program -- the aquarium is the world's only facility to have kept white sharks alive for a significant period -- helps raise public awareness about the misunderstood predators, and helps scientists learn more about their habits and movements.
The five previous specimens were tagged prior to their release, and some of their movements surprised scientists. One of the sharks, after a five-month stay in 2008, swam down the Baja California coast and ventured deep into the Sea of Cortez.
Only one of the five sharks was known to have perished. It was released in November of 2009 and caught by a gillnet fisherman in Mexico in March of 2010.
Scientists now know that juvenile white sharks feed on fish and smaller sharks and rays off Southern California and Baja California, before they grow large enough to prey on seals and sea lions. Scientists on both sides of the border hope to achieve greater protection for the species off Baja California.
Captive sharks are kept only until they begin to appear stressed or exhibit behavior that indicates they should be released. This might include aggressive actions toward other inhabitants of the exhibit.
The newest member of the Open Sea exhibit can be viewed via HD webcam, and periodic updates about the shark will be posted on the aquarium's Facebook and Twitter pages.
-- Image of Monterey Bay Aquarium's newest great white shark is courtesy of ©Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder and is protected by copyright laws
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