I Got Into a Tank with Sharks and Swam with Stingrays! [VIDEO]
I wanted to do something different to celebrate Shark Week, so I got into a tank with them to experience their habitat up close!
Our friends at Adventure Aquarium along Camden Waterfront welcomed me to suit up and immerse myself in their 'Shark Shack', where I was allowed to snorkel with two dozens sharks! There were nurse sharks, sandbar sharks, and one GIANT sand tiger shark!
The question I was asked most about the sharks 'was it scary?'. No. These sharks are well cared for and WELL FED. They play nice with the various other fish in their tank, including some pretty substantial stingrays! The sharks at Adventure Aquarium are fed three times a week (on average, sharks in the wild eat once a week if they're lucky), and their menu includes variety. The sharks feast on everything from squid to mackerel. Biologist Eric said the sharks can even be picky at times. They have their favorite foods too!
Divers Taylor and Matt took me and my co-worker Chelsea Corrine to a safe space in the tank where we could snorkel and get some underwater images of the sharks swimming, which you can see in the video below.
Then, we spent sometime in a pool of stingrays! Some were very little, and I got to feed them which was so neat. They were so friendly and silky. Their mouths were like little vacuums sucking the fish from my hands. There was a large and very beautiful leopard stingray, that we were told has a foot fetish and may play with our toes. It's just her way of showing affection, lol.
Sharks, and even stingrays, can be very misunderstood. But they are also magnificent creatures that deserve our understanding, and even compassion. That's why conservation of these, and other sea creatures, is so vital to the environment.
I can't thank the wonderful staff at Adventure Aquarium including, Eric, Matt, Taylor, Sam, and Deanna, enough for their hospitality.
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