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!