Posted on 08/23/2006 7:50:02 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Bubba the Queensland "Super" Grouper Passed Away Tuesday
(CBS) CHICAGO -- Bubba the Queesland Grouper was born a female but became a male. More remarkably, this Shedd Aquarium resident was the first fish to successfully undergo chemotherapy. Now, staff members at the Shedd Aquarium are mourning the death of a most “super grouper.”
Bubba died suddenly on Tuesday. Teams were mobilized to provide emergency medical care to Bubba, but efforts to save the fish were not successful.
“The past twenty-four hours have been extremely difficult for our staff as Bubba was truly a member of the Shedd family,” said George Parsons, director of the Fishes department, in a news release. “Bubba overcame some incredible odds over the years, and that’s what made him so special to us. His story of survival inspired so many of our guests and the public that followed him.”
An initial autopsy revealed Bubba had health issues related to old age and a number of abnormal growths. A more extensive report will come back in a few weeks.
Bubba was born a female, but later became a he because groupers can actually change gender as they mature because of social and other factors. Bubba was left as an abandoned pet at the Shedd in 1987.
Bubba was diagnosed with a type of cancer and successfully treated in 2003, earning him the nickname “super grouper” by the media who followed his story. He became an inspiration to cancer paitents and even has a tile in his honor at the Hope Children’s Hospital oncology division in Oak Lawn, Ill.
BUMP
Mmmmmmm, grouper...
Groupers are the coolest fish on the reef. They are the only animal that seems to take an interest in what you are doing there.
"Bubba was born a female, but later became a he..."
Just like many democrats.
Actually with Democrats it goes the other way. The males become females.
I worked in the Emergency Room of a major hospital for 20 years and,as a result,have vivid images burned into my memory banks of the treatment given to many "codes"...gunshot wounds,stab wounds,car accidents,heart attacks,etc.
In spite of this,I can't for the life of me imagine how *this* code would have been run.
Oy!
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