Whale sharks make 8,000-mile trip to Georgia Aquarium

<p>More than five months before its opening, the Georgia Aquarium already has a strong selling point: It is the only aquarium in North America to house the largest fish on earth.</p><p>On Friday, two whale sharks were "swimming around and looking great" in the aquarium, according to UPS spokesman Dan McMackin, after the fish were transported on a 60-hour trip from Taipei, Taiwan, to Atlanta.</p><p>The fish were flown more than 8,000 miles by UPS on a 747 freighter. The flight made a fueling stop in Anchorage. Then, after landing in Atlanta late Thursday night, the adventure continued Friday morning on two customized trailers.</p><p>"They are the first fish we've moved for the aquarium," McMackin said. "The fish are doing fine."</p><p>McMackin said each container, including the water and fish, weighed about 27,000 pounds.</p><p>The interior of the 747 had to be reconfigured to accommodate the custom tanks, built with marine life support systems.</p><p>"This was specialized transportation," McMackin said. "Logistically, it was a challenge."</p><p>According to the aquarium, the larger whale shark measures 15 feet, 6 inches. The other is about 13 feet long. Together the two weigh about 2,200 pounds.</p><p>"This is our star," said Georgia Aquarium spokeswoman Donna Fleishman of the whale shark exhibit.</p><p>The whale shark can grow to 50 feet in length, so young whale sharks _ named Ralph and Norton _ were sought out for the aquarium. Both are males, so the planned names from the old television show "The Honeymooners" didn't work.</p><p>"We thought we might have Ralph and Alice, but as it turned out we have two males," Fleishman said.</p><p>The Georgia Aquarium will be the first outside of Asia to house a whale shark, Fleishman said.</p><p>Fleishman said the whale shark will be housed "in the Trump Tower of the aquarium." She did not have the dimensions but said it would the largest tank at the attraction.</p><p>The aquarium will study the behavior and basic biology of the whale sharks in a joint effort with Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla.</p><p>The Georgia Aquarium is scheduled to open on Nov. 23.</p>