http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2009, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:02:21 EST Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/06/15/georgia_aquarium_sandbar_shark.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/06/15/georgia_aquarium_sandbar_shark.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:16:36 EDT If the four sandbar sharks that are the newest residents of the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager gallery seem a little scarce initially, well, you'd proceed carefully too if you were suddenly sharing space with seven other species of sharks. "They're moving around a little bit, trying to figure out their new 'ocean,' " explains Chris Coco, manager of the 6.3-million-gallon display. He predicts that within three or four weeks, the sandbar sharks will be all over the gallery and more easily spotted from its underwater tunnel or viewing windows. That's a good thing as far as aquarium officials are concerned, since sandbar sharks, commonly found in the western Atlantic from Cape Cod south to Argentina, have crowd-pleasing looks, like sharks from central casting. They don't attack humans, but they look the part, with a stout body, a moderately long, rounded snout and distinguished, tall first dorsal fin. http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/04/14/giant_squid_georgia_aquarium.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/04/14/giant_squid_georgia_aquarium.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:37:54 EDT As calamari go, the new giant squid on display at the Georgia Aquarium would make one heck of an appetizer. Bigger than a refrigerator and longer than a totem pole, the world's largest fish tank unveiled the deep sea creature — the subject of centuries of monster tales — on Tuesday in its Cold Water Quest Gallery. Its presence is a departure for the aquarium. The downtown attraction normally sticks to live fish that swim and float to amuse and amaze, not dead animals preserved in water and rubbing alcohol. http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/04/10/whale_sharks_study.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/04/10/whale_sharks_study.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:43:07 EDT Scientists have discovered that whale sharks, the biggest fish in the ocean, get around — as in really get around. A just-released study by Chicago-based geneticist Jennifer Schmidt found that the bus-sized sharks not only swim across oceans, they apparently breed with their counterparts in far-flung areas of the globe. Schmidt, a University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of biological sciences, now wants to expand the study by taking DNA samples from the four whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. The aquarium houses the only captive whale sharks outside of Asia. http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/03/19/georgia_aquarium_titanic.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/03/19/georgia_aquarium_titanic.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:13:58 EDT The Georgia Aquarium is extending its Titanic Aquatic exhibit until Labor Day. The world's largest fish tank and the exhibit's owner, Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions, said Thursday they were extending Titanic Aquatic due to high customer demand. Since opening in August, the exhibit — which is an additional charge to general admission ($31.50 compared to $26) — has sold more than 150,000 since it opened last August. Titanic, which includes items from the ill-fated 1912 voyage, was slated to run for nine months at the aquarium. http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/03/16/georgia_aquarium_whale_sharks.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2009/03/16/georgia_aquarium_whale_sharks.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=11 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:17:40 EDT Animal welfare groups half a world away are using the 2007 deaths of two whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium in an effort to stop a Singapore resort from displaying the huge fish. The groups, which include the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have launched a Web site (whalesharkpetition.com) and petition drive that highlights the Georgia Aquarium whale sharks deaths to argue that the big fish should not be kept in captivity at a new marine park in Singapore. Ralph and Norton — two adolescent whale sharks brought to Atlanta from Taiwan — died two years ago after their tank was treated with a chemical used to rid fish of parasites. The Georgia Aquarium still has four whale sharks, and is the only fish tank outside of Asia to display the polka-dotted giants, the largest fish species and the largest sharks in the world.