BEIJING, Nov 16 — Videos of a life-size man-made whale shark at China’s Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen, Guangdong, have been widely shared online after the aquarium’s October reopening, showing the robotic fish gliding through the waters, captivating some visitors while deceiving others.
Some visitors who paid 230 yuan (US$32 or RM142. 17) for admission appear far from impressed and have expressed their outrage.
“I cannot believe the whale shark is fake. It’s outrageous to charge over 200 yuan for a ticket,” The South China Morning post quoted one commenter as saying on the aquarium’s page on review platform Dazhong Dianping, the restaurant and review service operated by Meituan.
Some threatened to report the aquarium or demand refunds.
“I’ll have it shut down,” another visitor was quoted as saying on Dazhong Dianping
However, others supported the aquarium’s innovative approach.
“It’s a wonderful alternative to showcase large marine creatures without imprisoning them in a tank,” an enthusiast wrote on Xiaohongshu, China’s version of Instagram.
But Xiaomeisha Sea World is not the first Chinese aquarium to feature a robotic whale shark.
That honour likely goes to Haichang Ocean Park in Shanghai, which introduced a similar robot developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation in 2022.
While the robots cost millions of yuan, they are far cheaper to maintain than live whale sharks, which can cost over 100 million yuan (US$14 million) to care for, according to the Hong Kong newspaper.
Li Jianping, an ocean expert at the Ocean University of China, said that in the wild, whale sharks can live for up to 130 years but in aquariums, do not survive more than five years due to the limited space.
Robotic sharks, however, allow aquariums to promote animal protection and ocean education without capturing these protected species.
A Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park spokesman told SCMP that whale sharks are a national protected species and their capture is prohibited.
Though some visitors felt misled, others welcomed it as reflecting the aquarium’s commitment to animal welfare, as long as the use of robots was disclosed upfront.
Lawyer Wang Rongmei noted that the aquarium is not breaking any laws as long as it doesn’t claim to have live whale sharks.
Li also expressed hope for future technological improvements to make the robotic sharks more lifelike in their movements.
“The ideal aquarium should be nature itself,” he was quoted as saying.
