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note:
Disgusting, apparently the Aquarium of the Pacific's shark exhibit inspired a
primitive bi-pedal primate behavior display. An atrocity.
Exhibited sharks, tortured and killed by punks, Long Beach CA:
Ray also dead, 2nd shark expected to die from nighttime attack
By Tracy Manzer, Staff writer
LONG BEACH - One shark and one ray were discovered dead at the Aquarium of
the Pacific early Monday, and a second shark was barely alive following a
case of brutal animal cruelty.
Staff members arrived early Monday before the Aquarium opened its doors and
were having their usual walk through the plant when several people made the
gruesome discovery at Shark Lagoon, said Perry Hampton, director of animal
husbandry. A nurse shark, named Michelle, and a bamboo shark and cow-nosed
ray - a relative of the sting ray - were dragged from their touch tanks and
tortured, then left for dead by unknown vandals.
A $2,500 reward is being offered for information that can lead to the arrest
and conviction of the person, or people, responsible for the animals' deaths.
News of the killings shocked visitors. Staff members many of whom have
developed close bonds with the animals were horrified, Hampton said.
"We were all very sickened by what happened to these animals," said Aquarium
spokeswoman Cecil Fisher.
The crime occurred sometime between the point when the Aquarium closed Sunday
at 6 p.m. and opened Monday at 9 a.m. The bamboo shark, which measured about
18 inches, was found barely alive and is not expected to survive. The nurse
shark, which was about 3-feet long, and the ray, which was slightly larger
than a laptop computer, were already dead when they were discovered outside
their tank.
Shark Lagoon and its inhabitants of touchable critters is a serene
environment and the most popular exhibit at the Aquarium, Fisher said.
The sharks and rays some with slick skin and others rough to the touch swim
all day among the fluttering fingers of children and adults. Designed to
educate people about the true nature of sharks, the exhibit demonstrates that
the majority of the feared fish are absolutely no threat to humans.
Unfortunately, humans can sometimes be a threat to the sharks.
"It's really horrible, when you think about the point of the touch pools,"
said Sandy Collins, a regular visitor to the Aquarium who brought her 3-year-
old daughter for lunch and a day of learning.
"It shows you how they're not a real threat to you and me; too bad there
isn't something that can protect them from us."
Michelle was one of the first animals in the exhibit when it was introduced
in 2002, which is why the staff named her.
"She has been with us since Shark Lagoon opened, millions of people touched
her," Fisher said.
Nurse sharks, like the rays and the bamboo sharks, zebra sharks and epaulette
sharks that live in the touch tanks, are bottom feeders who prefer crabs and
snails to fish, or people's fingers.
Michelle was about 5 or 6 years old, Hampton estimated. She could have lived
to be 30 or 40 years old, and would have reached about 9 feet.
The bamboo shark is full grown, as was the ray, Hampton said.
The touch pools are one area of the Aquarium that is outside, although they
are protected by high walls and fences. Hampton said he was told not to
discuss the building's security system. Pending the outcome of the
investigation, the Aquarium may consider making changes to the area, Fisher
added.
Detectives in the Long Beach Police Department Burglary Detail are
investigating the violent crime, and offered no possible motive Monday.
"I guess a senseless act of cruelty would be the best way to describe it,"
Hampton said. "One of the things that make it especially horrible is that
these animals never expected to be harmed by people."
Anyone with information is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department's
Burglary Detail at (562) 570-7351.
I really hate the human race sometimes we suck as a species our government here in the US sux as a government, we are destroying our planet and none at the higher levels seem to care!!!