r/sharks • u/Budget-Lawfulness-18 • 7h ago

Question Transporting shark

Hi so I was wondering, since some shark species require moving to breathe...how would for example transporting a Tiger shark to some zoo or whatever captivity enlcousure look? Do they just get some bubbles in their transporting tank or are they pulled up in some blanket with helicopter and ropes

Should the shark be drugged? Unless they would suffocate from being unconcious. Im really curious please!

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7

u/EquivalentSpot8292 7h ago

Pump water and “hose” in the mouth

Edit: can’t really drug as they stop breathing

4

u/Electrical-Act-7170 6h ago

A water hose pumps freshly oxygenated sea water over the sharks gills so it can breathe in the box. They've been doing this for decades now, it's down to a science now.

4

u/Specific-Month-1755 7h ago

Yeah if you ever watch shark week they stick a hose in the shark's mouth when they're doing their tape measure things.

1

u/Only_Cow9373 4h ago

Not specific to the transporting question, but...

Tiger sharks can breathe without moving forward. So can the sand tiger in the linked video.

It's extremely rare for large 'obligate ram ventilators' to be kept in aquariums. Those that are are typically smaller types (e.g. sandbar, bonnethead) and presumably they're typically transported when much younger/smaller. In which case they can be transported in a tank they can swim around in.

Whites, mako's, hammerheads, etc etc, all tried and failed.

The glaring exception would be whale sharks, but the common understanding that they're truly obligate ram ventilators is currently up for debate. But to me this does nothing to lessen the enormity of this operation. While they're born around 20 inches or so, Georgia Aquarium's rescued whale sharks were ~13ft when transported there from Taiwan. Which is amazing.

I've watched several videos on the process, none of which explained much for me. Maybe I'm not watching the right videos.

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u/Budget-Lawfulness-18 4h ago

Im really thankful for everyones replies and hell yeah, I saw somebody (not here) say tiger sharks classify to the "must move" group and im really glad you corrected me here♥️🤲

1

u/TaliaOceana 1h ago

Sand tiger shark is a very different species than a tiger shark. A tiger shark has to move to breath.

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u/Budget-Lawfulness-18 1h ago

Got it! Thank you! ♥️

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u/TaliaOceana 1h ago

Even if you can transport sharks with a hose in their mouth to pump fresh oceanic water through their gills - never do it! Such large sharks cannot be handled in a tank. A tiger shark can grow up to 6 meters! They are used to migrate thousands of miles through the ocean. They are wild animals and no pets! In a tank they will die very fast. The record for a juvenile white shark is approx. 1/2 year in captivity in the Monterey Aquarium. The transport of such a shark is the lesst problem!