Can't Have a Great White in Captivity Apparently

If you're faint of heart or you just don't like sharks, this article is not for you.

That being said, great white sharks are an interesting creature - they are almost at the top of the food chain in the ocean. When we say almost, we mean that there isn't much that the great white fears, well besides orcas and maybe the occasional herd of dolphins (recall that dolphins have been known to sometimes kill juvenile sharks because they can). Weighing on average 4,000 pounds and getting around 19 feet in length, the great white shark is not a small predator so it's not quite surprising to find out that there aren't very many other creatures that make them nervous. Great white sharks primarily feed off on seals and sea lions, but have also been observed to eat whales and fish, smaller sharks, otters, seabirds, dolphins, rays, and sea turtles.

Now that you have a bit of background, we're sure you're wondering why you've never seen great white sharks at the zoo or an aquarium. The answer is that great white sharks don't usually survive more than a week in captivity. Why? Two words: diet and space.

Most aquariums are family friendly and well, it may be a bit psychologically scarring for a little child to see a great white shark eviscerate a seal or sea lion in real time. The problem is that great white sharks won't usually eat non-living prey so it is difficult to feed these sharks when held in captivity. Even if the feeding was taken care of and the shark was fed in appropriate intervals without an audience, there are very few tanks that provide adequate space for a 20 foot 4,000 pound shark. You wouldn't keep a German Shepherd in a small kennel all day and the same would be true of a great white shark. The only issue is that many aquariums are not equipped to handle an animal of that size, which is the other reason that great white sharks do not survive long in captivity. In fact, usually in a captive state great white sharks don't even make it to a week while being held in a tank. The only aquarium that successfully housed and displayed a great white shark was the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. The aquarium was able to keep the great white shark alive for more than two weeks before releasing it back into the wild. No other aquarium has been able to beat that record and it seems to be a waste of resources (and a shark) to attempt to do so.

Unfortunately for those interested in seeing a great white shark in the flesh at an aquarium, as of right now, Monterey Bay Aquarium is not making any plans to display another great white shark.

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