Whale Shark Ralph Dies at Aquarium

Sharks in captivity will, from time to time, stop eating. So when Georgia Aquarium staffers noticed that Ralph was occasionally off his feed, they watched, but were not overly concerned -- until they saw him at the bottom of the Aquarium on Thursday.

One of the bonuses of having whale sharks in captivity, is that scientists can examine them and collect information about their biology for the first time.

Tim Binder, director of husbandry at the Aquarium, told 11Alive’s Marc Pickard that Ralph's last exam was two days ago.

“Wednesday morning -- which was the most recent physical -- we saw indications that he might have been having an elevated white blood cell count, mild infection. So,” Binder said, “We started treating that. But we were also very encouraged by his behavior, because he seemed strong and he was avoiding us."

Binder and his team were not prepared for what they saw the next day.

"As soon as we saw him on the bottom, he was pulled to the surface,” Binder said. “We provided him with fluid therapy, and also the appropriate veterinary care to deal with an animal that was in distress."

For eight and a half hours, a team of 50 people did everything they could to save Ralph.

"It is hard on our staff,” observed Aquarium president Jeff Swanagan. “And even though we understand our biology, it is tough. And you know, we endure that, and on one part, our hearts are saddened. Our minds have to turn on to their science mode and learn from it."

Visitors to the big window today seemed willing to view the deaths of Ralph and the beluga whale Gasper, as unrelated and unfortunate.

"I don't really think that there's a connection with it,” one visitor said. “To tell you the truth, I feel like so many things can be happening."

So, for the second time in two weeks, visitors and staff grieve over the loss of a special animal.

Ralph's necropsy -- an animal autopsy -- began around 10 a.m. Thursday.

Scientists hope to learn three things -- what killed Ralph, what are the workings of whale shark anatomy, and what can be learned to help whale sharks in the wild.

Quelle: 11Alive

Video reports:

http://www.11alive.com/video/player.aspx?aid=64807&bw=

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