ATLANTA, June 3, 2005 – Two whale sharks took a 60-hour ride on a UPS plane this week to arrive Friday at their new home at the Georgia Aquarium. Whale sharks are known as the largest fish on earth.
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The fish were flown more than 8,000 miles on a UPS B-747 freighter from Taipei, Taiwan, through Anchorage to Atlanta. The two sharks each are about 13 feet in length and together weigh nearly 2,200 pounds.
The movement of the whale sharks is believed to be the first in history for this species. The name "whale" has been applied to the fish because of its huge size, but they are fish and not mammals. The whale shark can reach up to 45-to-50 feet in length.
The movement presented a number of logistics challenges, including the re-configuration of the plane's interior; custom tanks with a highly advanced marine life support system, and marine animal doctors traveling aboard. Special hoisting equipment also was required at each end of the journey. The full capacity of the B-747 was required because the fish, their special tanks and water weighed a combined 54,000 pounds.
The UPS flight from Taipei to Anchorage was flown by Capt. Jeff Kilcoin, Capt. Greg Mulgrew and Flight Engineer James Casey. The leg from Anchorage to Atlanta was flown by Capt. Karen Lee, Capt. E.J.Carlton and Flight Engineer Bobby Raia.
The Georgia Aquarium, financed by a gift from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, will open this fall as one of the world's largest aquarium facilities. UPS, which is headquartered in Atlanta, is providing a number of in-kind services to support the hometown project, including the movement of Ralph and Norton from one side of the world to the other.
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For more information, contact:
Dan McMackin
UPS
404-828-4188
Donna Fleishman
The Georgia Aquarium
404-720-8149
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