Are Whale Sharks The New Panda?

No visit to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta is complete without a stroll through its most impressive feature, a transparent tunnel that transverses the world's largest fish tank. When viewed from inside, the 24-million-liter Ocean Voyager Exhibit teems with schools of predatory ronin, fleets of stingrays, goliath groupers and hammerhead sharks. The fanciful vista reveals many wonders, but none so magnificent as its four Taiwanese whale sharks, bus-sized fish on display for the first time anywhere outside Asia. These gentle leviathans, named Alice and Trixie, Yushan and Taroko, are the Georgia Aquarium's star attractions. In its displays, press releases, Web site and talking points, the Georgia Aquarium - which has been visited by more than 5 million people and viewed in the media by millions more since it opened nearly two years ago - describes Taiwan as a beautiful country that cares for the environment. For a diplomatically isolated nation like Taiwan, publicity can't get much better than this...