UK-based virtual reality company Curiscope has offered an alternative to keeping large animals captive, debuting an immersive VR shark experience which could become a big part of aquariums in the future.

“This is a wider project for us about inspiring kids and getting people to connect with subjects and topics,” said Curiscope CEO Ed Barton, speaking to Attractions Management. “It’s about using VR as the best way to connect by immersing yourself in a different environment.”

Founded in October 2015, Curiscope has released its first fully immersive, 360-degree experience, with a 90-second CGI film offering an up-close-and personal deep sea encounter with a pair of great white sharks. Barton told Attractions Management that the reason they decided to create the VR experience stemmed from a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California last year.

This video can be viewed in 360º vision on a smartphone or with a VR headset

In 1984 the aquarium tried to house a great white for its opening, but the animal died after just 10 days. In 2003, the same aquarium tried to capture a shark again but were forced to release it after five days when it wouldn’t feed. In September 2004 the aquarium successfully put a great white on exhibit, keeping a young female in captivity for 198 days before releasing her and then again in 2006 with a juvenile male remaining at the aquarium for 137 days.

In the last week, Japan’s Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium debuted the first adult great white to be placed in captivity, but the animal died after just a few days.

“They tried to have a great white in captivity several times and we thought it was a bad idea and not a good thing,” said Barton. “We think VR is the next-best thing for an animals like that where it isn’t really fair to keep them in captivity.

“The problem is for aquariums like Monterey Bay, it’s integral to what they believe in. Ultimately this is the solution that you no-longer have to catch sharks, orcas or anything similar. There are still other ways of doing it which is exciting, that people can learn from and most importantly doesn’t harm anything.”

With 2016 predicted to be the year VR finally takes its first steps into the mainstream, Barton believes this is just the start for aquariums and zoos, offering a viable alternative for animals such as orcas and sharks where it can can be difficult to keep them in captivity.

“What we find most exciting is the accessible end of the spectrum,” he said. “Oculus is potentially a great idea for putting into aquariums, but you can scale that down for something like Google Cardboard on mobile or on desktop. Education facilities can even do an aquarium-style exhibit that exists virtually for people to view at home.

“You can have live streams in the ocean, you can live record, we chose this to be CGI because you can do things you can’t do with live-action footage. We can have sharks that come right up to the camera, we can strip back their anatomy to teach about that. You can do things you couldn’t normally do even with animals in captivity when you’re playing with a CGI workflow. The potential is there for a real-life version too. It’s just the start of something very exciting.”

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