Comments on: Top 5 largest aquariums in the world to see whale sharks

By: Vi

Vi — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:23:46 +0000

Hi John,

It is good point about RRR. I visited aquarium in Osaka but it was no info about rescue, rehabilitate and release. May be I just missed that info or may be it wasn’t any attempt to rescue whose shark whales and they were just for show?

By: Vi

Vi — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 04:36:16 +0000

In reply to Sophie.

Yes, it is not acceptable. These aquariums are huge, but average grown up whale shark’s length is about 10-12 meters (~39 feet), so I can’t image them in these aquariums.
Also the latest data shows, they can live up to 130 years.

By: Sophie

Sophie — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 08:14:48 +0000

Thirteen years is still a long way of eighty years…. whilenits an improvement it’s still far from acceptable.

By: nick

nick — Mon, 20 May 2019 21:35:29 +0000

In reply to Angela.

I so agree. These kinds of animals are NOT able to be kept captive in these tiny tanks. A whale shark needs to be able to dive MILES deep in the ocean—not swim around in 30 feet of water. It’s a fucking CRIME to capture these endangered animals just so little kids can see them for ten minutes and go “Wow.”

Imagine being put in a steel coffin with a couple of holes for air and you might have a TINY idea what it’s like for these animals.

50 years from now people will be SHOCKED that these animals were locked in these little ponds, just like we are shocked that people used to shoot tigers for amusement.

It’s time to end these horrific abuses of these animals NOW.

By: Peter Wilcox

Peter Wilcox — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:27:42 +0000

In reply to Angela. The whale sharks at Georgia Aquarium have been there for 13 years. They have set a high bar for the care of these animals. They have a very extensive reasesrch program headed by Dr Alister Dove.

By: Bea

Bea — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:01:13 +0000

The whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium have been there since they opened in 2005. Perhaps, there were issues a long time ago, but I guess they figured out the problem and fixed it. The last thing an aquarium wants to happen is to shorten an animals life. Usually, animals live a longer life in responsible human care.

By: Diane Crawford

Diane Crawford — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 15:06:03 +0000

I was looking to go to an aquarium But, Thanks to your information I will now continue with whale watching. I was not aware of the limited life span due to captivity and will not support any aquarium at the expense of the whale shark. Thank You so much for the education
Diane

By: Vi

Vi — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 11:40:09 +0000

In reply to Angela. Hi Angela, I am not promoting aquariums, but people are looking for information about aquariums anyway. So I hope at least some of them will start thinking do they really want to visit aquarium or to see shale sharks in the wild if they visit this page.

By: Angela

Angela — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 04:06:58 +0000

If you are not a lover of aquariums or zoos and you’ve learned that whale sharks only live 16 months in captivity, then why are you writing about/promoting these places? Whale sharks are endangered species, do you think people should pay to have them captured from the wild so they can die in a tank months later. How about educating your readers who ask for whale shark tank experiences instead of encouraging this abuse.