California aquarium releases hungry shark

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A great white shark that barely ate while in captivity at the Monterey Bay Aquarium has been released into the wild, officials at the California site say.

Aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson said that during the shark's 11-day stay at the tourist site in Monterey, Calif., the animal only ate once despite numerous attempts by workers to satisfy its appetite, The Monterey County (Calif.) Herald said Monday.

"She looked great ... but they can only survive so long without taking in some groceries," Peterson said of the shark, which was released Sunday.

Before releasing the shark into the Santa Barbara Channel, aquarium officials tagged the animal with a tracking device that will allow them to monitor it.

Peterson told the Herald the decision to release the shark was made due to concerns the animal, which was caught Aug. 16 and taken to the aquarium Aug. 27 for display, may die without food.

"At a certain point, she will die if we don't get her back to the wild," he said. "We didn't want to push it that far."