Give us our money back! Visitors to a Chinese oceanarium are outraged to be shown a robotic shark instead of a live sea giant

A remarkable incident is unfolding at the Xiaomeisha Sea World amusement park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in southern China.

Visitors to the oceanarium are not satisfied that instead of a whale shark they are shown a robot.

Here's What We Know

Oceanariums around the world offer visitors a magnificent collection of marine life, from the smallest fish to huge sharks, rays and turtles.

Keeping and caring for a whale shark costs more than $14 million a year and Chinese engineers have created a robotic shark that is 4.7 metres long, weighs 430kg and mimics the movements of its prototype.

The robot is certainly remarkable, although experts say its movements are still a far cry from a real shark, but the main problem is with visitors to the oceanarium, who are unhappy that for 230 yuan ($32) they are being offered to watch a fake shark.

Some visitors to the Park are demanding their money back, and some are even threatening to take legal action on the grounds of consumer fraud.

The situation is ambiguous: on the one hand, it is a pity for sharks, because in captivity they live no more than five years, while in the ocean - up to 150. On the other hand, people came to see live representatives of the depths of the sea, and they are shown a fake. And on the third hand, we can not ignore the work of Chinese engineers: although the robot does not look like a real shark, but the work done is excellent.

Source: South China Morning Post