Was An Aquarium’s Star Whale Shark Actually A Robot?
Did an aquarium’s star whale shark turn out to be a robot? That’s what people are saying. Talk about a “deep fake!”
Can you imagine if your favorite attraction at the local aquarium turned out to be a robot? You probably felt at times like you bonded with the giant mammal and it might have had a special place in your heart. Then, you find out that it’s not actually real and the whale shark is actually a robot? That would be disappointing especially if you paid money to see it!
Aquarium’s Star Whale Shark Was Actually A Robot
This happened at an aquarium in Shenzhen, China called Xiaomeisha Sea World. It sounds like the aquarium just re-opened at the start of October after a 5-year renovation. That’s a long time and a lot of work! According to The New York Post, during its week-long dry run the 645,000-square-foot place attracted nearly 100,000 visitors who all paid around $40 to get in. However, it sounds like it didn’t take very long for people to start asking for refunds.
One of the biggest draws at the theme park was the whale shark which is the world’s longest fish and can grow up to 60 feet long! However, people reportedly felt cheated when they realized that it wasn’t real and was actually mechanical. Photos taken show obvious gaps in the whale’s torso where segments have been connected. It sounds like people were very upset by this and took to social media to complain and let their voices be heard.
According to The New York Post, Xiaomeisha reps have addressed said criticism and claim that the robotic shark cost millions to build and was not intended to catfish visitors but they were going with the laws that ban the trade of whale sharks. So, they opted to have a robotic whale shark instead. It sounds like it still wasn’t quite up to par. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in China. Recently, some animal parks were in hot water over spray-painting dogs to look like pandas. There was also a story about a fake waterfall that went viral. I guess seeing isn’t always believing.
You can see pictures and read more about this story from The New York Post here. Looking at it, it’s pretty clear that it’s not a real whale shark and I can understand how people might feel duped especially if they paid to see the whale shark. That would be a major let down and bummer.