By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
August 10, 2018 at 10:30 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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There are tons of reasons to visit Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in the city’s Minato Ward, not to mention one or two that weigh a ton.
A highlight of the aquarium is the spectacular Pacific Ocean tank, which is 9 meters deep and 34 meters wide at the longest point to hold 5,400 tons of water. The tank contains an estimated 1,500 sea creatures of about 60 species, including approximately 100 sharks of 10 varieties such as whale sharks and hammerhead sharks.
“The two whale sharks have the most presence here,” said staffer Yoshikazu Kitadani, 48.
One is a male named Kai, which is about 4 meters long and has an estimated weight of 800 kilograms, while the other is a female called Yu, which is about 5 meters long and has an estimated weight of 1,100 kg.
The whale shark is the largest known extant fish species with a maximum reported length of at least 12 meters, but the enormous creature mainly feeds on plankton. The aquarium gives them about six kilograms of food per day.
When the first feeding time of the day starting at 10:30 a.m. approached, the fish were seen swimming faster and coming to the shallow end of the tank. They all appeared to know when their mealtime was. The whale sharks were also seen swimming just below the surface.
When a staffer hit the surface in one corner of the tank with a ladle, the pair came close with their mouths wide open.
As soon as food was placed in their mouths, the whale sharks sucked it in with seawater as they made a violent noise.
Whale sharks filter feed with sieve-like structures and expel water through the gills.
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A whale shark swims in the Pacific Ocean tank at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in the city’s Minato Ward. (Toshiyuki Takeya)
