Yahoo News 4 Jan 08;
HONG KONG (AFP) – A third rare sturgeon has died in a Hong Kong aquatic park, a spokeswoman said Sunday, the latest misfortune to strike a school of the endangered fish donated from China to mark the Olympics.
The Chinese sturgeon died at Ocean Park on January 2 suffering from a head injury and blood clotting, a spokeswoman told AFP. "We will be doing more investigations (to find out what happened)," said the spokeswoman.
The death is the third among a group of 10 sturgeon donated to the theme park to mark China's hosting of the Olympics last August, the first time the fish has been sent outside mainland China.
The first was killed by a bite from barracuda in the aquarium and was a diplomatic embarrassment for Hong Kong, prompting the city's Chief Executive Donald Tsang to demand a full report.
The second died three weeks ago from an infection, which may have been a result of changing its environment from fresh water to salt water, the spokeswoman said.
A report in the Sunday Morning Post said two further sturgeon were also ill.
The fish are known as "living fossils" because they have been around since prehistoric times but they are also referred to as "pandas under the water" because they are so rare.
China often uses gifts of pandas as a sign of diplomatic goodwill.
