Georgia Aquarium Shares How They Transported Whale Sharks to the U.S. in Informative TikTok
How much do you think it costs to ship a whale shark?
The Georgia Aquarium's official TikTok has always been a source for fun animal videos, with seals and beluga whales taking part in TikTok trends and educational content, showing off behind-the-scenes looks at everything from animal wellness exams to animal food prep.
Now, they're finally answering one of their viewers' most burning questions: How did their whale sharks get to the aquarium?
The largest fish in the world can only be found on exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium—at least in the western hemisphere—so, naturally, fans have been curious about how it came to be. On Aug. 30, 2022, in honor of National Whale Shark Day, the aquarium documented their journey on TikTok, captioning the video, "Answering one of our most asked questions: How did the whale sharks get here?"
The video opened with a microphone sticker slapped across a video of one of the whale sharks, with someone asking, "Excuse me, Sir? How did you get here?" from off-screen. "It's a long story," the aquarium's TikToker then said, appearing in front of a photo of a giant UPS plane using the green screen feature.
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"Our whale sharks came from Taiwan in 2007," she went on to say, "where they were, unfortunately, at a fish market. "They came on a private plane in a specially made container just for them."
The screen then changed to a photo of one such container strapped down a flatbed, with what appears to be a police motorcycle escorting it. "Through their entire transport, they were in this specially made container, and there were tons of people around them the whole time…to make sure that they were okay. We were escorted from the airport to the aquarium, and we did it! We beat Atlanta traffic, no problems!"
She then shared a photo of a whale shark behind the glass of their floor-to-ceiling Ocean Voyager exhibit, which contains 6.3 million gallons of water and was always intended for whale sharks, according to the video.
The next photo showed a juvenile whale shark being released into the exhibit for the first time. "Once they came through that container, we hoisted them via that blue stretcher you see and then we put them in Ocean Voyager." She then described the photo as "pretty much a whale shark baby book photo."
Ever since, they've been part of decades' worth of whale shark research.
The aquarium didn't reveal exactly how their first whale sharks were found at the fish market or rescued for the aquarium, but their customized ride was pretty cool!
"…. How much was the shipping bill?" one commenter wanted to know. Though no answer was provided, it was surely astronomical!
Others were just impressed with the way the transport finessed its way around Atlanta traffic. "ATL traffic is a feat of its own," one said, with another adding, "So wait. The most unbelievable part is that you be [sic] ATL traffic. Good job!"
"Omg that had to be hard!!😳," another commenter pointed out.
"A labor of love 💙," the aquarium replied, proving that any difficulty faced was well worth it.
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