Shark stolen from aquarium in pram
A MAN has been charged after a shark was removed from a petting tank at an aquarium in Texas and smuggled out in a pushchair.
The San Antonio Aquarium, in Leon Valley, said two men had “staked out the pool for more than an hour” before making off with the shark while a staff member was busy helping other guests on Saturday afternoon.
CCTV showed one of the men repeatedly reaching into the tank before lifting out the 16in (40cm) juvenile female grey horn shark, named Miss Helen. The shark was wrapped in a towel, then put in a bucket and into a pushchair before the suspects left.
Staff at the aquarium said they were alerted and the two men were challenged in the car park, but drove off. Police then tracked down the vehicle to the suspect’s home on Monday.
Joseph Salvaggio, the police chief of Leon Valley, said: “When we got into the garage and into the house it looked like almost a mock-up of here [the aquarium]. He had a lot of different marine animals in the home.” The shark was returned to the aquarium and is believed to be alive and well in quarantine. Mr Salvaggio told reporters he thought the suspect had intended to add the shark, which is valued at around $2,000 (£1,500), to his collection. He added: “He had had one of these in the past. I think the animal had died sometime in the past, so obviously he likes those types of animals.”
Police said a 38-year-old man had been charged with theft, and a man and a woman were being questioned in connection with theft.
The suspects could face federal charges in connection with breaching regulations around the transportation of sharks.
Horn sharks are a relatively small species that typically measure 3.3ft (1m) in length when fully grown.