Hong Kong - Five rare Chinese sturgeon will be donated to Hong Kong this month to commemorate the opening on August 8 of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a media report said Tuesday. The fish will replace one that died after being bitten by a barracuda in an aquarium at the Ocean Park theme park, the South China Morning Post said.
Chinese officials initially sent five sturgeon, representing the five Olympic rings, to Hong Kong to mark the territory's hosting of the Games' equestrian events. But this symbolism was lost when one of the fish died last month.
China planned to send just one replacement fish, but the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association decided to send five sturgeon in case any more died before the August 8 Games opening.
Ocean Park chairman Allan Zeman saw the gift as a blessing to the park. He said: "Out of adversity, out of bad things, sometimes good things happen. Now, instead of five sturgeon, we have nine sturgeon."
The new sturgeon will be housed in the existing shark aquarium and the 26 sharks will be moved to other facilities.
The aquarium will feature educational panels explaining the dietary habits of the 140-million-year-old species, and similarities among 26 other species in the sturgeon family.
