UPDATE: A spokeswoman at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium said Friday that the great white shark was beginning to show signs of weakening and was moved to a separate tank in the morning. It is not currently on exhibition.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium this week began what it believes is the world's first exhibition of an adult great white shark at its facility in southwestern Japan.

According to the aquarium, the male shark, caught off the village of Yomitan in Okinawa prefecture Monday, is about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long. Great white sharks have been displayed at other aquariums, but only juveniles less than 2 meters long, a keeper at the aquarium said. The shark hasn’t eaten anything since it arrived, but its feed will include fish, squid and even pork. “Every day is a new experience for us and we are learning many new things--this is a first for us,” the keeper said. Adult great white sharks are difficult to exhibit at aquariums because of their size and continuous swimming. Workers at the Churaumi Aquarium had to guide it in the tank so that it wouldn’t crash into the clear walls. They also had to prompt it to continue swimming after it stopped and sank to the bottom of the tank. But the shark appears to have settled well after a few days, according to the aquarium. Great white sharks, which inspired the film “Jaws,” are the world’s largest known predatory fish and are known to have 300 teeth. Their length can exceed five meters. The largest caught in Japan was 5.8 meters long, according to Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science. Great whites are found around the world, mostly in cold to temperate seas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the number of great white sharks has risen sharply after falling for decades.

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