Tragic reason you'll never see a great white shark in an aquarium

If you ever decide to visit an aquarium you'll see a small shred of the splendour and majesty of what life lies under the sea.

However, many of these places can be pretty controversial because they contain creatures which campaigners say shouldn't be kept in captivity.

Some of these titanic creatures spend their entire lives in captivity, kept in tanks that cannot hold a candle to the vastness of the open ocean.

It can take great effort to get the animals released, and even in instances where a campaign is successful some of them die before they can be freed.

Still, you'll see all sorts of sea life in an aquarium but one thing you aren't likely to see is a great white shark.

Have you ever noticed there aren't any in aquariums? (Getty stock photo)

They've been held in captivity in the past, but the reason why it's not done now is because it's pretty much never worked for any meaningful length of time.

Only the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has successfully displayed a great white shark, as in other attempts the fish have died after a matter of days in captivity.

Even in the one case it was successful the longest they managed was to keep one of their six for 198 days before bringing an end to it.

In the end it was too costly to keep a great white shark, even one which had managed to get over the initial hurdle of dying within the first few days like the others of its kind.

According to Vox, the animals developed injuries in their tank, and sometimes killed other animals that were part of the aquarium's exhibits as the sharks became increasingly aggressive in captivity.

"I was made to be free and eat things. Mostly eat things, but I need my space." (Getty Stock Photo)

All in all trying to keep a great white shark in an aquarium has just been a recipe for high costs and a dead shark.

They grow too big, are difficult to feed and they need space to move.

indy100 reports that while other marine life can use their gills to get oxygen from the water with their mouth closed, the great while shark needs to have the mouth open.

This means any environment where their movements are restricted makes it harder for them to breathe properly, while they're also used to swimming long distances and putting them in a small tank where they can do nothing of the sort is highly distressing for them.

Basically, it's just nothing close to a suitable environment for them.