Fwd: [Kyunghyang, Aug. 22] Whale Shark at Jeju Aqua Planet Dies Sparking Controversy: Release vs. Display

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Fwd: [Kyunghyang, Aug. 22] Whale Shark at Jeju Aqua Planet Dies Sparking Controversy: Release vs. Display

By Kang Hong-gyun

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201208221123277&code=710100

The two whale sharks at Hanwha Aqua Planet in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju raised doubts about whether they were a miracle. Now people are demanding the release of the one surviving whale shark.

Disputes continue as some argue that the death of a whale shark on August 18 was caused by the stress of being in an aquarium and others claim that it was due to an inherent disease.

The Hot Pink Dolphins, a group working to preserve the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, released a statement on August 21 demanding, "Hanwha Aqua Planet should reflect on their faults leading to the death of the whale shark and release the surviving whale shark immediately." 

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The Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) of Jeju also announced this day, "The aquarium at Aqua Planet may be one of the world's largest, but it can't be larger than the ocean in which the whale sharks lived. We should release the surviving whale shark to its original state before it dies." 

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Lee Young-wung, director of KFEM Jeju spoke, "Another whale shark died while being transported to the Aqua Planet at the Yeosu Expo a few months ago. Whale sharks are too sensitive to be managed by human hands. It is an animal of nature that we should not treat in this way."

The Hot Pink Dolphins insisted, "Whale sharks can't tolerate being locked up, so an aquarium is nothing but a cramped prison cell. It is obvious that the extreme stress the whale sharks experienced after being enclosed in the aquarium caused the death."

However Hanwha Aqua Planet announced, "We have asked Jeju National University to perform a rigorous autopsy of the dead whale shark and are waiting for the results. Due to the lack of research on whale sharks in Korea, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of death."

 

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About Whale Shark

 

이미지 출처: Jeju Sori, Aug. 22, 2012

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While the Gangjeong sea is not only for soft corals and dolphins, the Sea of Seogwipo where the Gangjeong Sea belongs to is also for a habitat of whale shark which is called the' hermit of Sea' and which is told to mainly feed on plankton,

microscopic plants and animals. Click Wiki. (Video informed by Mr. Go Gwon-Il, chairman of the Gangejong village committee to Stop the Naval Base)

(Source: http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.kr/search?q=whale+shark )