Latest Great White on Exhibit Was Released Back into the Wild

BY ANNE SOBLE

A young female white shark from the Malibu area that was put on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in late August was returned to the wild last Wednesday.
Her release was prompted by several recent observations of aggressive behavior toward other inhabitants of the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit.
“I’ve always said that these animals will tell us when it’s time to put them back to the ocean. Now was clearly the time,” according to Randy Hamilton, MBA’s vice president of husbandry.
Hamilton said, “[The shark’s] health is excellent, and we learned a lot while she was with us. Based on past experience, we have every expectation that she’ll do well.”
Aquarium staff released the shark in offshore waters near the southern tip of Monterey Bay shortly after sunrise.
Prior to her release, the young white was fitted with two electronic tracking tags. One will deliver real-time data on her location to researchers; the second will collect and store information documenting her travels, the depths she dives to and the water temperatures that she favors. After about six months, the second tag will pop free and deliver its data to scientists via satellite.
During her 69 days on exhibit, the recent great white shark grew from a length of 5-foot-3-inches and just under 80 pounds to a length at release of 5-feet-5 inches and a weight of 100 pounds.
During her stay, she fed exclusively on mackerel, which is unusual, as sharks usually graduate to a varied menu. After a few days of not eating, she generally ate up to three percent of her body weight each day.
The change in behavior that led to her release started on Oct. 31, when she received a superficial bite wound from an unknown animal. On Nov. 1, she was observed chasing scalloped hammerhead sharks in the exhibit, and bit and injured a Galapagos shark, according to Hamilton.
“When we saw a new pattern of aggressive behavior, we decided it was best to release her,” he said.
Because of planned renovations of the Outer Bay exhibit that are expected to start in late August 2010, there will be no attempts to bring another young great white shark to Monterey until summer 2011 at the earliest.
The other components of the catch-and-release juvenile white shark tagging program will continue throughout the construction when the Malibu holding tank is set in place.
Real-time tag data and published research based on all the sharks tagged, including the animals not placed on exhibit, can be found on the Tagging of Pacific Predators website, www.topp.org