Alice, Georgia Aquarium's 'larger-than-life' whale shark, dies

ATLANTA - The Georgia Aquarium is mourning the death of its female whale shark over the weekend.

Monday afternoon, the aquarium posted a note on Instagram about the death of its female whale shark Alice.

According to the aquarium, the team had noticed changes in Alice's behavior and bloodwork, and on Sunday her condition has worsened and was not improving.

"The only humane option was to euthanize her," the aquarium wrote.

Alice had been rescued from Taiwan where she was going to sent to be sold as seafood. Since coming to live in Atlanta in 2006, she became the longest whale shark resident.

"Most importantly, she was a larger-than-life ambassador for her species wowing guests from all corners of the globe," the aquarium wrote. "It was a tremendous honor to be the steward of Alice’s care and for that we will be forever grateful to her."

Alice's death came less than a year after the aquarium's largest whale shark Trixie passed away from health complications.

The largest fish in the sea, whale sharks are considered endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The Georgia Aquarium says the largest accurately measured whale shark was 61.7 feet long.