Georgia Aquarium mourns death of largest female whale shark

ATLANTA — The Georgia Aquarium is mourning the loss of its largest female whale shark after its death.

In a Facebook post, the aquarium said Trixie passed away after her health declined on Friday.

According to the aquarium, Trixie was having difficulty navigating her habitat and, though the vets tried to help her recover, she did not survive.

Trixie arrived at the aquarium in 2006 from Taipei, Taiwan as one of the aquarium's first four whale sharks at the time - the others being Alice, Ralph, and Norton. At the time, they were one of the few whale sharks on display in the United States.

In the 15 years since their arrival, Ralph and Norton have also both passed.

"Loss is inevitable, but that does not make it any less painful," the aquarium said. "We are so proud to have been stewards of her care for 15 years. We will miss you, Trixie."

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.