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Three people snatched a small shark from a pool at the San Antonio Aquarium and smuggled it out in a baby carriage over the weekend, the aquarium said Monday.
A suspect is in custody and “the shark is alive and well and on its way back to the aquarium!” a spokeswoman for the aquarium told NBC News on Monday night.
Security video released Monday shows the alleged sharknappers strolling through the aquarium’s hallway pushing the baby carriage along on Saturday before they drove off with the 16-inch shark in a red pickup truck.
The aquarium said the thieves brought their own net with them to snag the shark from an interactive “touch pool” at the tide pool exhibit while an attendant was assisting other visitors.
They then ducked into a filter room and emptied out a bleach bucket, into which they deposited the shark, the aquarium said. They used the bucket to transfer the shark into the stroller and “hurried up the stairs and out to the parking lot,” it said.
The aquarium said managers raced to the parking lot and caught up with the suspects — who denied access to both the vehicle and the stroller.
The horn shark is a small, slow-swimming member of the bullhead shark species, found mainly off the West Coast from California to the Gulf of California. They mostly eat mollusks, crustaceans, worms and sea anemones.
“We value the lives of all of our animals and take pride in the care that we are able to give them as well as the education that we are able to give to the general public about these treasured species,” the aquarium said.