thaoctopus
New member
Anything new?
We have a Great White
- Thread starter wonrib00
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marinelife
Active member
I have been watching the webcam and I have seen the Shark a few times, she looks great!!
marinelife
Active member
Yes they have different cams, here is the one the white is in http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_hp/hp_obw_cam.asp
thaoctopus There really isnt much new about the GWS. We think she has packed on about 20 lbs or so. We have also noticed that her nose is looking better. Dr. Mike (head vet) says that she is growing new tissue to repair the tissue that was damaged while feeding against the wall. When feeding her, we have been adding antibiotics to her food so she doesnt get an infection, pretty much routine stuff with all animals we have here at MBA. The aquarists goal this year was to display a thresher or a mako long term, the failed on those because of the GWS, but it looks like that may be in their plans for next year. I asked on of the aquarists about it and he said "the longer we have the white shark, the chances of us getting a mako get smaller and smaller". I asked about a blue as well, and he said that they have been tried and they just dont last. We tried two back in 96, adn they only lasted a couple of months. So they are looking at a thresher for this year, when that will come about, we are not sure, but more than likely during the summer.
It has been a while since I posted a pic, and I think I have figuered out the night setting on my camera, so I will try to get some pics up this weekend sometime.
marinelife The thing about the webcams is, the more people that are on the website, the poorer the quality of the picture. The best times to see in the exhibit is in the mornings, before 10 or so. We turn out cams on at 7 am, and off at 7 pm.
It has been a while since I posted a pic, and I think I have figuered out the night setting on my camera, so I will try to get some pics up this weekend sometime.
marinelife The thing about the webcams is, the more people that are on the website, the poorer the quality of the picture. The best times to see in the exhibit is in the mornings, before 10 or so. We turn out cams on at 7 am, and off at 7 pm.
marinelife
Active member
So far I have never had a problem with the cams they always look great, but not as good as in person that I hope to do in July when we come to Cali to visit Family
OK, first, I am not proud of taking photography with a flash, but I dont have a tripod. But I dont feel so bad because I was talking with one of the people directly invovled that has ben in the exhibit when flashes have gone off, and he said that very little light gets to the animals when it is just one or two flashes. The problem comes up when there are hundreds. I was the only one in there in the morning before we opened, so it was okie dokie. I wanted to take pics especially for today as today was the four month anaversery.
On the above pic, you can see the minor rubbing she was doing underneath her chin. "Bellybutton" right inbetween her pectoral fins.
You can see how she has filled out a little. We think she has gained about 20 pounds.
On the above pic, you can see the minor rubbing she was doing underneath her chin. "Bellybutton" right inbetween her pectoral fins.
You can see how she has filled out a little. We think she has gained about 20 pounds.
Meisen
Premium Member
Wow, awesome shots, thanks so much for sharing them! Just looking at such an amazing animal gives me goosebumps and I have seen A LOT of animals.
So one of your shots shows something interesting. The caudal peduncle is flattened like a tuna's is. Interesting that it occurs in several groups of "big water" fishes. Does this flattening have a term? What does it do? Some kind of lift for the tail or another hydrodynamic trick? Well, its cool anyway.
One more question, probably someone who works at MBA would know....is there any kind of stray electrical current eliminator being employed in the tank?
So one of your shots shows something interesting. The caudal peduncle is flattened like a tuna's is. Interesting that it occurs in several groups of "big water" fishes. Does this flattening have a term? What does it do? Some kind of lift for the tail or another hydrodynamic trick? Well, its cool anyway.
One more question, probably someone who works at MBA would know....is there any kind of stray electrical current eliminator being employed in the tank?
invincible569
New member
are her swimming patterns the same as the other sharks? or does the GW have a different pattern? When you feed, does it jump out of the water like you see in the Discovery channels? I know that this is probably the only shark that does this right?
Meisen The flat part at the end of her, just forward of her fluke is called a keel. I am not sure if that is te corect spelling of it, but it is pronounced the same. It seems like the larger animals in the ocean have them. A lot of the larger sharks do fo sure, along with tunas. The idea of the keel is to add strength to the body at its weakest point. Since the tail is moving the whole animal, if it didnt have the keel, there would be a greater of breaking itself at the weakest point when it has a short but powerful burst of speed. (Does all that make since, I am lookng at it and not sure that it does). Let me know if you need a further explination.
The unique thing about the tank she is in is, it is a tank within a tank basically. The water you see is 1 million gallons, there is another 250,000 you dont see. The best way to describe it is, if you take an egg and put it in a small box that is just large enough to hold the egg without breaking, and then filling all the spaces with water, that is what the tank is designed like. So with that said, there are no corners for her to get into, and any ot the rebarb(sp?) that is in the cement doesnt come into direct contact with the water she is in. The walls that you see when you are infron of the exhibit is actually the shell. The walls are made of over 1.6 million 1"X1" tiles. There is actually now talk of replacing these tiles as they are starting to think they are somewhat sharp. How they are sharp, I dont know. I dont know that the rebarb(sp?) theory was ever a fact, or just a theory. Any way you slice it, she doesnt seem to be effected by how the exhibit is set up at MBA.
invincible569 She doesnt relly have any swimming patterns, which is what we are going for, nor do any of the other sharks in there. The Galapagos was displaying some swimming patterns when they were in an exhibit that was too small for them. Then they were moved to the million gallon tank, and swimming patterns went away. All the sharks in the exhibit swim where ever they want, the other three tend to stay towards the bottom, the GWS is usually towards the top. The GWS usually swim in the top 20 feet of so, as that is where you will find most penipeds(sp) (sea lions, seal).
She does come out of the water as she is an agressive eater, but only about a foot or so of her. She looks just like the ones you see on tv, her eyes roll back, teeth come out. The ones that are coming all the way out of the water are eating seals more than likely. If the footage is cought naturally it is not a big deal as they natually feed like that, But if you are bating a GWS to do that for photography reasons, you can get a very large fine. I honestly dont know if she is the only kind of shark that does that. I know that there are some wahles that will come out of water, Orcas will beach themselves to get seals. As far as coming out of the water and up in the air, I am not sure, someone else may know that answer here...
Good news for that that are planning to come and visit MBA in the next year or so. Our head shark aquarist has said that she will be on display for 6 months to a year. They are thinking that she is growing about an inch a month, but that is unconfirmed. What, you want more good news, ok. We are going to actively look for another GWS this summer. Dont ask that question you just thought of, we will come to that bridge when we cross it. This move is in anticipation of continuing the research on GWS. Because we had so many people come through the doors this year, it has given us additional funding to do more research for this project.
The unique thing about the tank she is in is, it is a tank within a tank basically. The water you see is 1 million gallons, there is another 250,000 you dont see. The best way to describe it is, if you take an egg and put it in a small box that is just large enough to hold the egg without breaking, and then filling all the spaces with water, that is what the tank is designed like. So with that said, there are no corners for her to get into, and any ot the rebarb(sp?) that is in the cement doesnt come into direct contact with the water she is in. The walls that you see when you are infron of the exhibit is actually the shell. The walls are made of over 1.6 million 1"X1" tiles. There is actually now talk of replacing these tiles as they are starting to think they are somewhat sharp. How they are sharp, I dont know. I dont know that the rebarb(sp?) theory was ever a fact, or just a theory. Any way you slice it, she doesnt seem to be effected by how the exhibit is set up at MBA.
invincible569 She doesnt relly have any swimming patterns, which is what we are going for, nor do any of the other sharks in there. The Galapagos was displaying some swimming patterns when they were in an exhibit that was too small for them. Then they were moved to the million gallon tank, and swimming patterns went away. All the sharks in the exhibit swim where ever they want, the other three tend to stay towards the bottom, the GWS is usually towards the top. The GWS usually swim in the top 20 feet of so, as that is where you will find most penipeds(sp) (sea lions, seal).
She does come out of the water as she is an agressive eater, but only about a foot or so of her. She looks just like the ones you see on tv, her eyes roll back, teeth come out. The ones that are coming all the way out of the water are eating seals more than likely. If the footage is cought naturally it is not a big deal as they natually feed like that, But if you are bating a GWS to do that for photography reasons, you can get a very large fine. I honestly dont know if she is the only kind of shark that does that. I know that there are some wahles that will come out of water, Orcas will beach themselves to get seals. As far as coming out of the water and up in the air, I am not sure, someone else may know that answer here...
Good news for that that are planning to come and visit MBA in the next year or so. Our head shark aquarist has said that she will be on display for 6 months to a year. They are thinking that she is growing about an inch a month, but that is unconfirmed. What, you want more good news, ok. We are going to actively look for another GWS this summer. Dont ask that question you just thought of, we will come to that bridge when we cross it. This move is in anticipation of continuing the research on GWS. Because we had so many people come through the doors this year, it has given us additional funding to do more research for this project.
marinelife
Active member
sweet I am glad that she could still be there when I come, would have to come all they way and she not be there.
Lordhelmet
Active member
i was able to go there this weekend to see the shark again and let me say just how impressive it truly is to see this animal. I last saw it in the beginning of october and i can tell it looks better then it did then. anyone who has the chance to see this shark should as soon as they can. plus the whole aquarium is pretty cool to. and you cant beat the weather there, it was beautiful on saturday in monterey.:strooper:
I've been keeping up with this thread and am very impressed with your progress. Keep up the good work.
On a side note, many of the animals that you see in shows and such at Sea World, etc., actually show these behaviors in the wild. Case in point, when I was on a ship returning from Panama, we came across a large pod of dolphins. No trainers around and they were jumping completely out of the water, doing spins and flips and such. All out in the open ocean. It was like our own private show.
I have also ran into large pods of dolphins here off the SOCAL Coast who would criss cross back and forth under the ship as we moved thru the water, playing in the ships wake as well.
I have seen sharks on occassion and have had them circle a small boat, but never jumped out of the water. I think they were more curious than hungry.
On a side note, many of the animals that you see in shows and such at Sea World, etc., actually show these behaviors in the wild. Case in point, when I was on a ship returning from Panama, we came across a large pod of dolphins. No trainers around and they were jumping completely out of the water, doing spins and flips and such. All out in the open ocean. It was like our own private show.
I have also ran into large pods of dolphins here off the SOCAL Coast who would criss cross back and forth under the ship as we moved thru the water, playing in the ships wake as well.
I have seen sharks on occassion and have had them circle a small boat, but never jumped out of the water. I think they were more curious than hungry.
tacocat
Premium Member
It's neat to see her at feeding time. Apparently, she doesn't eat at the same time as the other fish. During that time she cruised near the surface, her dorsal fin broke the water often. We were standing next to her feeding spot, and she passed just below our feet several times, but she was fast and came out of nowhere, so we didn't get a pic. We did get a pic of the top of the million gallon tank during feeding time.
