Sharks Topside

Ohio History

Shark Tank From Above

On our way out of the Aquarium, we had the unique opportunity to see the shark tank from the top. Look at all that water! It made it seem a little more scary to have been down in those tunnels! If you look closely, you can see the outline of the glass tunnels on the lower left, and also different rock outcroppings positioned in the tank. Funny thing was, when we walked through the tunnels I had no idea all this was above our heads! The main part of the Aquarium is actually underground, which allows a second floor above all the tanks for maintenance and cleaning. This makes perfect sense, since there was no way to access all those tanks from the museum floor. Imagine designing something like this!

Surrounded by Sharks

Ohio History

And now . . . immerse yourself in the underwater world. I took this movie standing right in the shark tunnel, completely surrounded by water and sharks. The fish drift gracefully past, beside and overhead, even below the tunnel. They did actually look blue like the movie shows, just as in a deep ocean pool. Doesn't it almost feel like this movie was taken underwater (when you can't see the end of the tunnel, of course)?

Shark Rays

Ohio History

Swimming Shark Ray

The Shark Tunnel houses more than just sharks: two extremely rare Shark Rays named Sweet Pea and Scooter also make their home here. The rays have been raised at Newport Aquarium since they were little. They are stars, according to the signs, of the world’s only Shark Ray breeding program, located at the Aquarium. The rays seemed friendlier than the sharks, but also more delicate and gentle. Though the picture is a little hard to make out, these fish were big - seven or eight feet long with their tails. There were also several other smaller rays in the aquarium, including Southern Stingrays and Honeycomb Whiptail Rays.

Feeding Pole

Ever since they were little, Sweet Pea and Scooter were hand-fed by a diver every day in their tank. But as they grew, the Shark Rays began to push the divers around, even carrying a man six feet across the tank. Even though rays don't bite, I guess the divers didn't like the experience and decided to try a different feeding method. The staff have been trying to get the rays to come to the water surface instead to eat their food over the last few weeks. They use colored signs on poles, like the cross seen above, to associate food with a certain target for each Shark Ray. So far they've had very limited success; as you can see in the picture, the sharks were more interested than the Shark Rays. Hopefully, the rays will get hungry enough to come over and check it out!

Shark Tunnel

Ohio History

Shark Silhouette

Welcome to the Shark Tunnel, the most amazing spot at the Newport Aquarium! Three sections of tunnels, at least 50 feet total length, sent us down into the sharks' aquarium (without getting wet, of course!). It really felt like we were in the ocean! The sharks swam so gracefully, it was a very peaceful tank to watch. I especially enjoyed the last section of tunnel, where blue light danced through the water onto the sand below. You can see it in the photo above, underneath the shark silhouette.

Shooting Shark

This shark looks like he has something on his mind! The signs said there were Sand Tiger, Sandbar, Whitetip Reef, Blacktip Reef, Nurse and Zebra sharks in the shark tanks at the aquarium. Don't ask me which kind this is!

One of the tunnels even had a glass floor section, where you could be surrounded 360 by water (and sharks)! I can see where this exhibit got its name, Surrounded by Sharks!