“Aquarium Needs to Be Closed”: Tourist Claims He Saw 3 Dead Animals in Tank, Aquarium Responds

• An international tourist who visited Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town claimed to have seen dead animals in a tank
• Two Oceans Aquarium refuted the claims and told Briefly News the turtle in the video was rescued and is undergoing rehabilitation
• Many members of the online community supported the Cape Town-based aquarium in the post's comment section

While on holiday, a tourist visited an aquarium and made false claims about the well-being of the animals, garnering much attention from online users. However, the aquarium quickly set the record straight, refuting the allegations and assuring the public of the animal's proper care.

Fishing for a reaction

An international travel content creator named Jack, who uses the TikTok handle @jacks.travelling, uploaded a video showing that he visited the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town.

While there, he spotted a turtle that wasn't moving and said:

"The Cape Town aquarium needs to be closed. We saw three dead animals in the tank.

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"I hope all aquariums in South Africa aren’t like this."

Watch the TikTok video below:

Two Oceans Aquarium responds

Briefly News contacted Two Oceans Aquarium and spoke to Heather Wares, the communications manager, who shared the following:

"The Two Oceans Aquarium prioritises the health and welfare of the animals in its care over anything else. We would like to confirm that the turtle shown in the video is not dead but rather sleeping in its regular sleeping spot in the exhibit."

Heather said that the loggerhead turtle, Kai, was rescued and is undergoing rehabilitation with the aquarium's Turtle Conservation Centre and will thereafter be released into the wild.

The communications manager also shared with the publication that the worry the Two Oceans Aquarium has with ill-informed videos, such as Jack's, triggers action from animal welfare organisations like SPCA.

She added that it wastes their time and resources, which could have been used for legitimate animal welfare situations.

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"The positive outcome of this incident is that the Two Oceans Aquarium was blown away by the support from its community who stepped in to our defence. This speaks for itself, showing how seriously we take our mandate for animal care."

Mzansi reacts to 'dead' sea animals

As Heather mentioned, many social media users in the post's comment section supported the aquarium, finding the tourist's claims ridiculous.

@ruth.jam said to Jack:

"Stop making false claims, especially about the aquarium. They do so much conservation."

@industr1al_c4t wrote in the comments:

"Hating on one of the most ethical aquariums... Okay."

@ernsterich, who hoped the video was satirical, stated:

"When people don't know how sea turtles sleep, you get this kind of post."

@mickjholmes asked the public:

"Is this a rage bait account?"

@jean_pierreofficial told the young man:

"Please get your facts correct before you post BS on social media."

@nothing.to.do.wit7 jokingly told Jack:

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3 Other stories about 'offensive' expats in SA

• A woman from America shared the five things she learned while visiting South Africa. Her review annoyed many locals.
• Briefly News reported about a Zimbabwean content creator who rubbed people the wrong way when he shared his take on Tembisa residents shopping at the Mall of Africa.
• A student from the United Kingdom showed off her fancy Cape Town mansion and bragged about the house having the same cost as a two-bedroom flat in London.

Source: Briefly News