I just read that the great white at Monterrey Bay Aquarium has killed its second soupfin shark on Tuesday. There is some debate as to the reason for its behavior. I was fortunate to see the female, five footer this past Saturday. Just my observation, but it seemed like a soupfin shark was often shadowing, and bumping the great white. The article also noted that there have been no other attacks on any of the other fish in the million gallon tank, including tuna, bonito, and barracuda.
archman
March 10th, 2005, 09:55 PM
What's a "soupfin shark?" I don't recall ever hearing that common name ever described to a discrete species before.
http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=0&hab=8&inhab=430
Thanks Andy. Hmm... I've never heard of this species before, how UNUSUAL.
I think I like the common name of "vitamin shark" better. Or maybe "flake shark"... it's a toss-up.
H2Andy
March 10th, 2005, 10:36 PM
i like flake shark
if you say it with a valley girl accent, it's great:
like, that flake shark is sooooo boss
archman
March 10th, 2005, 10:50 PM
Yeah, but think about how the brits say "vitamin".
I just choked on my drink. Thinking is bad.
isurus
March 11th, 2005, 06:30 AM
Yeah, but think about how the brits say "vitamin".
You mean the proper way? ;)
We Brits call that a tope or toper. In the old days (1800's) it was called a sweet william for no apparent reason.
Tobagoman
March 11th, 2005, 09:37 AM
I'm going to be out there in July, I hope the GW is still there. I've always enjoyed visiting Monteray Aquarium and the shark would give me a good excuse to get down there.
When you name a shark "soupfin" you've pretty much determined it's course in life.
Like naming your daughter Bambi or your son Lou Gehrig
sorry...I'm going to he11.
H2Andy
March 11th, 2005, 12:25 PM
LOL
actually, i went out with a girl named Bambi in college. she was alright.
i was jealous, thogh, cause she had a trust fund and was set up for life
archman
March 11th, 2005, 03:04 PM
In the old days (1800's) it was called a sweet william for no apparent reason.
Oh, I'm DEFINITELY calling it that! I love using common names that are historical and obscure.
Sweet William, I love it. :dazzler1:
JustAddWater
March 12th, 2005, 04:11 PM
H2Andy,
So you went out with girl named BAMBI...WITH a trust fund, and you didn't marry her?
Did you learn ANYTHING in college? ;)
H2Andy
March 13th, 2005, 12:03 AM
H2Andy,
So you went out with girl named BAMBI...WITH a trust fund, and you didn't marry her?
she sort of... dumped me...
:crying:
actually... there wasn't much of a "sort of" in the dumping, now that i think
back on it...
JustAddWater
March 13th, 2005, 12:46 AM
Look on the bright side, Bambi and her husband, Milktoast, are probably livin' on the edge snorkeling on Disney Cruises.
Pilot_dc
March 13th, 2005, 01:19 AM
Maybe Disney'll sue her for every dime for unauthorized use of the name... ;)
JustAddWater
March 13th, 2005, 02:46 PM
Good one...
Wijbrandus
March 18th, 2005, 05:18 PM
You know, when they first put this shark in the aquarium, I was all for it. I mean, how many people get to see this "fearsome man-eater" up close and personal like this?
Now I'm starting to think some of the naturalists are right. It's time to put her back where she belongs.
Chebby
March 20th, 2005, 12:35 PM
By now she probably learned to associate humans with food already, is it really wise to release her?
Foo
March 20th, 2005, 02:12 PM
By now she probably learned to associate humans with food already, is it really wise to release her?
"Soupfins are known by a number of names including tope, flake, school shark, and vitamin shark."
Well, I guess she needed a couple of vitamins ;)
BTW you can watch the crime scene, I mean shark aquarium, in real time via the shark cam:
http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_smm/smm_cam.asp?bhcp=1
saildiver
April 24th, 2005, 09:42 PM
I just read that the great white at Monterrey Bay Aquarium has killed its second soupfin shark on Tuesday. There is some debate as to the reason for its behavior. I was fortunate to see the female, five footer this past Saturday. Just my observation, but it seemed like a soupfin shark was often shadowing, and bumping the great white. The article also noted that there have been no other attacks on any of the other fish in the million gallon tank, including tuna, bonito, and barracuda.
Hey JustAddWater-did the aquarium ever come up with any idea wht the GW is eating :11ztongue the Soupfin Sharks....I follow shark research closely and I've never heard of that behavior in the wild...Peace...Saildiver
storm1fishing
April 24th, 2005, 09:54 PM
I nearly had a psychic girlfriend , She left me before we met.
Stirling
April 25th, 2005, 12:16 AM
Hey JustAddWater-did the aquarium ever come up with any idea wht the GW is eating :11ztongue the Soupfin Sharks....I follow shark research closely and I've never heard of that behavior in the wild...Peace...Saildiver
As a general proposition (i.e., I don't think this is a shark thing especially), you will see a lot of unnatural behavior from predators in captivity. From a little bit of animal caretaker experience a long time ago, I think wild animals in confined spaces can be much more aggressive toward other animals than they would be in the wild where they have room to spread out or chase others away. They don't like being crowded, and I think you need a lot of room for an active shark not to feel crowded. Many react by becoming depressed (e.g., zoo animals) and even wasting away (great whites in captivity generally); this one apparently kept her spirits up, which was unfortunate for the Sweet William.
drbill
April 25th, 2005, 01:20 AM
Here's a link to the newspaper column I wrote about soupfin sharks a few years ago. Includes four images of them.
As a general proposition (i.e., I don't think this is a shark thing especially), you will see a lot of unnatural behavior from predators in captivity. From a little bit of animal caretaker experience a long time ago, I think wild animals in confined spaces can be much more aggressive toward other animals than they would be in the wild where they have room to spread out or chase others away. They don't like being crowded, and I think you need a lot of room for an active shark not to feel crowded. Many react by becoming depressed (e.g., zoo animals) and even wasting away (great whites in captivity generally); this one apparently kept her spirits up, which was unfortunate for the Sweet William.
I figured it would be something like that....Peace...Saildiver
