Aquarium’s ‘fake’ whale shark angers visitors

Visitors to a new aquarium in China were left furious this week after discovering one of its top aquatic stars was a robot, despite it being marketed as such. Xiaomeisha Ocean World in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, opened on October 1 but was quickly slammed for its high prices, long queues, and poor conditions for its marine life. Much of the criticism, however, centred on the park’s star attraction: a “mechanised whale shark”. Photos of the shark showed joints in the body where parts of the robot had been joined together. On the online review platform Dazhong Dianping, users fl ooded the aquarium’s page with negative comments. “I’m speechless about the fake whale shark. I really want to report and ban this place,” one visitor wrote. “Why are they using fake props as fi sh?” read another review. “Are they trying to trick children?” The park, which charges around 240 yuan ($34) for adult tickets, has a rating of just 2.9 out of 5 stars on the popular review platform. Many social media users posted under the hashtag “Netizens complain about spending hundreds of yuan at Xiaomeisha Sea World to see fake fi sh”. In response, the park said that whale sharks are not allowed to be traded and keeping a real one in captivity would be cruel, while the robot was meant to raise awareness for protecting the species.