We have a Great White
- Thread starter wonrib00
- Start date
One more time....shark
yesterday, i took a trip down to mbay aquarium. as soon as i walked in through the member entrance, i went straight for the outer bay exhibit. i maneuvered pass the jellyfish exhibit and was welcomed to the sight of about 100 people crowding the 1 million gallon tank.
I busted out my digital camera and was set to take pictures of the great white. I've been a huge fan of sharks and other aquatic life for a long time. And i knew that my only real chance to see a white shark was either diving off the faralon islands or perhaps travelling to s.Africa to witness "breeching" behavior.
For a long while, i didn't really see the shark. I saw lots of yellowfin tuna. some baracuda. a new suprise was the addition of 2 baby mola (ocean sunfish). My previous visit left me dissapointed when i discovered that their 800 lb resident mola was removed from the exhibit. But these two little delights were quite a treat.
Finally, after about 15 minutes of waiting around. i saw her.
The shark was characterized by her white nose. and graceful posture. she was cruising. even at a meager 4 feet 4 inches, she looked awesome. her white underbelly contrasted to her gray gave her such a huge presence. As she swam by, dozens of cameras went off. everyone wanted to see Mbay's new princess.
I was esctatic.
I must have been on my tip toes for a good half hour. overall, i snapped about 30 pictures of the shark. But only 3 came out decently. I was a newbie with my digital camera and was still messing with the flash settings.
my best pictures of her. enjoy
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/krel23/DSC00303.jpg">
yesterday, i took a trip down to mbay aquarium. as soon as i walked in through the member entrance, i went straight for the outer bay exhibit. i maneuvered pass the jellyfish exhibit and was welcomed to the sight of about 100 people crowding the 1 million gallon tank.
I busted out my digital camera and was set to take pictures of the great white. I've been a huge fan of sharks and other aquatic life for a long time. And i knew that my only real chance to see a white shark was either diving off the faralon islands or perhaps travelling to s.Africa to witness "breeching" behavior.
For a long while, i didn't really see the shark. I saw lots of yellowfin tuna. some baracuda. a new suprise was the addition of 2 baby mola (ocean sunfish). My previous visit left me dissapointed when i discovered that their 800 lb resident mola was removed from the exhibit. But these two little delights were quite a treat.
Finally, after about 15 minutes of waiting around. i saw her.
The shark was characterized by her white nose. and graceful posture. she was cruising. even at a meager 4 feet 4 inches, she looked awesome. her white underbelly contrasted to her gray gave her such a huge presence. As she swam by, dozens of cameras went off. everyone wanted to see Mbay's new princess.
I was esctatic.
I must have been on my tip toes for a good half hour. overall, i snapped about 30 pictures of the shark. But only 3 came out decently. I was a newbie with my digital camera and was still messing with the flash settings.
my best pictures of her. enjoy
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/krel23/DSC00303.jpg">
gatohoser
New member
Hey sorry Nathan i just noticed this thread after posting about it myself! Man is she awesome. I saw her feed today. She really hits that water with some power but shes still too small to compare to those gigantic tuna you got! Couldnt believe that feeding frenzy could create waves for so long in 1 million gallon tank lol.
invincible569
New member
wonrib00 said:
How long has it been now? Has she been in captivity longer than 14 days? Was the last 14 day shark eating too?
mmmmsushi
New member
That is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. Too bad she's 3000 miles away.
I'm curious if the Great white would have such popularity if it wasn't for 'Jaws'. I think she would just be another shark to most people.
Also is there a White shark? As opposed to a GWS? Is there a Great Blue shark as well as a Blue shark? Was the Great added on as they started to scare the crap out of people? Or perhaps the Great was always part of the name and white was really the optional word because, Great Big Shark sounded dumb?
I'm curious if the Great white would have such popularity if it wasn't for 'Jaws'. I think she would just be another shark to most people.
Also is there a White shark? As opposed to a GWS? Is there a Great Blue shark as well as a Blue shark? Was the Great added on as they started to scare the crap out of people? Or perhaps the Great was always part of the name and white was really the optional word because, Great Big Shark sounded dumb?
invincible569 SHe was put into the tank last Tuesday for display on Wednesday. So I think they are starting the counting on Tuesday. The record is 16 days. This is the first GWS to ever feed in captivity, which is why we are all so excited.
niko5 We didnt have to drip acclimate her at all. SHe was in a holding pen out in the ocean. This is going to be off subject for a second here. The really cool thing about the MBA is that it is a semi-open system. We suck water right out of the ocean. Maker water changes so much easier. We bring in water at the rate of 2000 gallon a minute during night time. During the day we turn of the pumps going to the ocean and recirculate the water as it has a lot of nutients in it. If you ever come in the morning and look at the Kelp Forrest exhibit you will notice that it is very merky looking. When we bring the water in, it goes right into that exhibit and then overflows to all the other exhibit from there. The Water to the million gallon tank is heated to 68 degrees (So Cal water temp). So there wasnt too much to be worried about. I am sure that the water perameters were not exact with So Cal water, but I am sure that the aquarist had that in mind when they put her into the tank.
mmmmsushi Right now she is concerned to be a White Shark. I think that with age comes Greatness. I dont know the name they were using before Jaws came out, maybe Peter Benchley can better answer that question. Too bad he is not on this forum...A funny part about it is, if you look at her, she is prodominantly blcak/gray on top, (kinda hard to tell from my crappy pic) which is why she can disapear in that tank so well. Like that stated earlier by krel23 (great pic BWT), didnt see her for 15 minutes, that is not uncommon.
niko5 We didnt have to drip acclimate her at all. SHe was in a holding pen out in the ocean. This is going to be off subject for a second here. The really cool thing about the MBA is that it is a semi-open system. We suck water right out of the ocean. Maker water changes so much easier. We bring in water at the rate of 2000 gallon a minute during night time. During the day we turn of the pumps going to the ocean and recirculate the water as it has a lot of nutients in it. If you ever come in the morning and look at the Kelp Forrest exhibit you will notice that it is very merky looking. When we bring the water in, it goes right into that exhibit and then overflows to all the other exhibit from there. The Water to the million gallon tank is heated to 68 degrees (So Cal water temp). So there wasnt too much to be worried about. I am sure that the water perameters were not exact with So Cal water, but I am sure that the aquarist had that in mind when they put her into the tank.
mmmmsushi Right now she is concerned to be a White Shark. I think that with age comes Greatness. I dont know the name they were using before Jaws came out, maybe Peter Benchley can better answer that question. Too bad he is not on this forum...A funny part about it is, if you look at her, she is prodominantly blcak/gray on top, (kinda hard to tell from my crappy pic) which is why she can disapear in that tank so well. Like that stated earlier by krel23 (great pic BWT), didnt see her for 15 minutes, that is not uncommon.
yessongs She has eaten about 8 lbs total since we have gotten her. She is being offered food twice a day, and if she is hungry, she eats, if not someone else gets the food. Is eight pounds the average for a GWS to eat, not sure, one of the many question we want to answer. But for an animal that is only 62 lbs (when she went on exhibit), kinda seems like a lot to me over a 6 day run.
mmmmsushi
New member
Thanks wonrib00. So she's considered a White shark..
As far as 'Jaws' goes I'm sure the Great White name was around before the movie. It's the popularity that goes along with the name that people know now. Even those folks that know nothing about the ocean know what a Great White Shark is. Heads perk up and people think... oh.. dangerous.
Not that we'd be able to answer it here... But... Would this GWS (does she have a name?) be so popular if the 'Jaws"movies hadn't created a star out of a species of animals. Without Peter Benchley, the white shark would just be a shark to most people.
As far as 'Jaws' goes I'm sure the Great White name was around before the movie. It's the popularity that goes along with the name that people know now. Even those folks that know nothing about the ocean know what a Great White Shark is. Heads perk up and people think... oh.. dangerous.
Not that we'd be able to answer it here... But... Would this GWS (does she have a name?) be so popular if the 'Jaws"movies hadn't created a star out of a species of animals. Without Peter Benchley, the white shark would just be a shark to most people.
SilverShark
New member
Thanks for them photos, really wish I could come see her 
