According to the story, this had a happy ending with the freeing of the baby whale shark.
Tiny whale shark gives clues to sea giant’s behaviour
Tiny whale shark gives clues to sea giant’s behaviour
dwhatley;134809 said:Tough call on releasing that one since we don't know if it needs a parent for survival.
Jean;134812 said:Fortunately most sharks have minimal (if any) parental care. I didn't realize they'd be born so very small, Great Whites pups are quite a bit bigger when born!
J
Jean;134818 said:But we have never seen juveniles in those groups, our carpet sharks are born at 10-15 cm long and are on their own (also think of our fav's occis, fingernail sized and on their own! ). I agree that we don't know much about these fish, I wonder if they hang around reef breaks as juves???
J
baldtankman;134898 said:I am glad they released it but wouldn't it have been amazing to find out what was inside the stomach (if anything). In a none fatal manner of course.
M
A Whale shark that swam into a freshwater canal in Taiwan has been returned to the sea by rescuers.
According to a report from the Taipei Times, the 3m/10' juvenile Whale shark, Rhincodon typus, was spotted yesterday morning in the Tainan Canal after entering via the fishing port of Anping.
The China Post said that large crowds of spectators had gathered to see the stricken fish within hours, and by early afternoon efforts were underway to return the fish to the sea.
Fire officers and conservationists used a lifeboat to navigate the canal and eventually used a net to guide the giant fish back out to sea.
The Whale shark, which feeds mainly upon small invertebrates via filter-feeding, is believed to have followed prey shrimp or fish up the canal from the sea.
The incident is the first recorded in the 90-year history of the canal.
Whale sharks, the world's largest fish species, can reach lengths of up to 20m and weigh up to 34,000 kg.
The species is protected on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Jean;134920 said:hmmmmmm new field of study, shark vomitology!!
(My friend used to call herself a penguin vomitoligist, because of how she got her penguin diet samples )
baldtankman;135019 said:How did she get them to chunder? Small doses of ND I bet?
Jean;135034 said:Don't think she thought of that! It would've been easier than sticking a small hose down their throats and pouring seawater down it, then holding them upside down! (all done with the permit, sanction and indeed help of the local DOC officer!)
baldtankman;135035 said:Come to think of it, the hose and saltwater method sounds more humane, they DoC may never permit, sanction or indeed help to administer the highly toxic ND