Do you remember Sammy? The whale shark from the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah? Well, she is not in Atlantis anymore, she got released into the Arabian Gulf after her 18 months stay at the hotel. She was captured back in August 2008 off the cost of Jebel Ali and has been on display inside the Aquarium in the Atlantis Resort Hotel. You might also remember the heated discussions about Sammy the wale shark back in October 2008. Now she could finally check out of the Atlantis Hotel.
According to the officials at the Atlantis it took so long to ensure the sharks survival after the release. Water temperature and migratory patterns together with the salinity of the water were brought in as excuses. Sammy is tagged now by the way to be able to track her whereabouts. So she can easily be identified should she ever check back in to the Atlantis Hotel.
“The whale shark is an animal about which little is known and Atlantis is proud that the research and data gathered can be shared amongst the marine community,” was the statement of Steve Kaiser, the vice president of marine and science engineering for the Atlantis Resort Hotel.
