What happened to the Great Whites we put in aquariums?

Let's take a look at what happened to the Great Whites we put into aquariums?

Sources:

Books:
The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey
Story of Sandy from this book.

List of every Great White kept in an aquarium (Great resource):

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[Piface]

Because they're huge animals known to regularly travel great distances, and thus not suited for life in a bathtub. That's the short answer. Frankly I find putting whale and tiger sharks in aquariums distasteful too

[thatwitchychick]

WTF They finally succeeded and then SHOT the poor shark to death because they couldn't be bothered to put it back in the ocean?? That's horribly depressing.

[walpurgisnight]

People often forget that these creatures not only travel vast distances every day, but they also dive well beyond the depths that any aquarium could ever dream to have available. The habitat for a white shark could be the size of a state or as big as a country; there just isn't any way or reason to keep them confined.

[kirstenwelch]

I am completely appalled by the story where the 8 foot great white shark survived all odds and instead of being returned to the ocean when he proved too much to keep in captivity they decided to SHOOT him instead and in front of a live audience at that!!!! Absolutely sickening

[CLangley-ylfb]

It's really nice to hear that the park owner that kept Sandy cared more for her health than ticket sales and did what was right for her by putting her back, instead of killing her like that other park!

[monicasegovia]

Sandy's story made me happy just because she got to go back into the ocean. Must've been such a relief to be home

[Niko-brql]

these people clearly haven't figured out that sharks can only survive long periods of time inside of a tornado. The first company that learns how to create and sustain a constant tornado will finally be able to keep a great white in captivity.

[tylermitchell]

I really enjoyed, "He doesn't want to be fed, he wants to hunt" 😂

[lore]

I’m telling you, the Aquarium in Japan that holds the Whale Shark (and apparently held more than one at some point in time) is WAY TOO FREAKING SMALL!! And I’ve been to it in person!! It’s shown a lot in this video so I wanted to clarity, yeah it looks much bigger from above which you can see during your visit at the aquarium but it’s still way too small for one whale shark let alone two, or even three. Also the Aquarium is called the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and I love it there, always so much to do and see in the park!!

[PizzaRocks]

Not only the aquarium tanks are way too small. Theoretically, the type of water conditioner they've used hurts the great white's essential gut microbes. The reason they frequently refuse to eat is probably not because they enjoy hunting and killing live food, due to the fact that great whites are known for eating carrion (already dead animals) as well. On the other hand, I also don't think it's because they hate being given food by humans which is false. I've seen a video of people who found a whale carcass, and threw it in the ocean to feed the great whites, and they can be seen eating the carcass like a pizza. So in conclusion, I think it is very plausible that the water conditioners put in the water are probably killing the shark's gut microbes, due to the fact that they swallow the water conditioner when they breathe. loss of appetite is also a sign of poor gut floral health.

[thinkingmanstudios]

Currently working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Right now there are a ton of young white sharks in the bay, so it's fairly easy to spot one from a slightly elevated position on the beach or bike path! I love the exhibits inside, but the best one is the bay itself.

[deborahthompson]

Omg the shark shot really made me cry. How the hell can anyone enjoy watching it and givin tickets to see a living creature shot

[GodzillaX]

Sad all those sharks suffered and died simply to sell tickets

[fraidypan]

Yikes…who the hell would WANT to see an animal being put down? Very sad

[take-itizzy]

The amount of effort & passion that wouldve gone into this video has to be appreciated. Well done.

[tstredt]

My wife and I stopped by the Monterey Aquarium in 2005 during our Honeymoon trip and they had a Great White. It was around 4 foot long and had been there for approximately 8-9 months. We were told it was doing very well and actively ate when fed. About a month or so later, it was released because it started killing the tank mates. Probably the only time I will see a Great White that close in person. So many animals can easily adapt to captivity, but those kind of sharks aren’t one of them.

[cdnshark]

I went on a behind the scenes tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 2009 and got to see their white shark feed from above, crazy stuff. I still don't know how they kept it alive as long as they did. When asked about why they wanted to keep great whites, the lead researcher said they believed that it was viable to train a young shark, preferably a pup, to live in an aquarium setting, so getting really young sharks was the key to having any success. But the thing they learned the most about the sharks was their body language and figuring out how a diver could respond to a shark! I have no idea how they would do that, but it was really interesting that reading a shark's body language was their biggest takeaway.

[anthonyd]

Currently there is no definitive explanation as to why they won’t survive in captivity. There are many hypotheses though. My favorite is actually one I thought of while studying ichthyology in college. Thermoregulation. White sharks need to maintain a certain body temperature, that is often either higher than the water temp or lower than the water temp. The way they do this is usually by controlling their depth or through physical exertion. And they can go DEEP even travel the world. If contained in a tank, no matter how big the tank is, it won’t be deep enough or large enough to allow them to control their body temperature.

[fluffies]

I remember going to Monterey Bay Aquarium as a child to see the great whites on display. It was a life changing experience for me. Looking back it definitely is a good thing these animals aren't being kept in captivity because of how difficult it is to care for them effectively. You can't truly appreciate the beauty of these creatures if haven't seen them face-to-face in their natural environment. Outside of cage diving I will never know that feeling, but that's fine with me.

[jasonpeacock]

I can’t wait for all the comments from people talking about how you’re wrong because their local aquarium had great whites. And I can’t wait for those folks to get angry when you have to explain to them the difference between a great white and a sand tiger.