Cephalopodcast

Monterey Bay Aquarium has a new white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and this time it’s a male. He was captured by MBA’s husbandry staff a couple weeks ago and it’s now on display in their Outer Bay exhibit. Wish I could get there to see this.

For only the second time, there’s a healthy young white shark in our Outer Bay exhibit. 5 feet 8 inches long and 104 pounds, he arrived on August 31 and is making himself right at home in the million-gallon exhibit.

White sharks are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity. MBA had a lot of success with a female specimen they kept for 198 days back in 2004. I reckon they’ll keep this male on exhibit for a couple of months too before he’s released. It’s a good opportunity to learn more about this species and educate the public about sharks.

• MBA: White Shark 2006
• MBA: White Shark webcam (requires Windows Media Player)
• FLMNH: White shark biological profile

UPDATE: Here’s some interesting links from the last time MBA had a shark. Did not realize there was a controversy.

• CBS: Great White Shark Debate Deepens
• NPR: Aquarium’s Great White Kills Other Sharks
• SFGate: Great white shark swims free
• MBA: White Shark Research Project