My shark tale

‘It needed help’: pram bandit

The man busted for swiping a shark from the San Antonio Aquarium and sneaking it outside in a stroller claims he’s not a crook — just a well-meaning marine-life advocate.

“I’m an activist, not a criminal,” Anthony Shannon (inset) told San Antonio’s KENS-TV from his Leon Valley, Texas, home, which has three saltwater tanks housing five sharks and dozens of other fish.

Shannon, 38, is charged with felony theft for reaching into a tank and removing a 16-inch-long horn shark named Miss Helen on Saturday.

Police said the sea-life enthusiast confessed to the bizarre crime after the shark was found in his home on Monday night.

“It was wrong to just take [her] like that. But, at that point in time, it was just something I had to do,” Shannon said. “It needed help.”

He said he’s a lifelong marine-life lover with 30 years of experience taking care of sea creatures, and became concerned about conditions at the aquarium when a friend told him ani- mals there were dying frequently.

About a month ago, he posed as a salt distributor there to investigate the conditions and take water samples from the tanks.

The aquarium confirmed Shannon’s stunt, saying in a statement that it had no reason to doubt his story about being an employee at Instant Ocean, a saltwater-aquarium supply company.

At least, that is, until someone recognized him on security-camera footage stealing the shark.

The aquarium insisted that all of its animals are well cared for, and said that Miss Helen is recovering following the caper.

“[We] invite everyone to come see her when she’s back on exhibit,” it said in a statement.