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Shark Attack: Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay
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Shark Week is here! And if the Discovery Channel’s annual week-long series that features dozens of species of sharks, real-life shark attacks, incredible out-of-water pictures of the ocean’s beasts and all things sharks has you craving for the ocean’s baddest predator than you need to check out the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. That’s because Shark Reef Aquarium will put you the closest you’ll ever get to these incredible creatures.
North America’s only predator-based aquarium and exhibit, Shark Reef Aquarium offers visitors an up-close-and-personal experience of some of the most fascinating sea creatures on Earth, including several different species of sharks. The 1.6 million gallons of seawater that make up the giant aquarium feature over 2,000 animals, over 100 different species and 15 species of sharks. 15!
A majority of those sharks swim in a 30,000-gallon saltwater tank in an exhibit called Elasmobranchs. Here guests can marvel at and learn about the aquariums many sharks including the toothy Sandtiger Sharks, the ocean’s bottom dweller Nurse Sharks, the spotted Zebra Sharks and Epaulette Sharks and many more.
The Indopacific Fishes exhibit is also a great place to get a glimpse at some of the larger sharks and residents of the sea. Here you’ll encounter more species of sharks as well as some of the sea’s other large inhabitants like lookdowns and various butterfly, angelfish and tangs in a 144,000-gallon saltwater tank.
But perhaps it is the largest of Shark Reef Aquarium’s fourteen breathtaking exhibits devoted to dangerous aquatic predators that will really make you feel like you’re actually swimming with the sharks. The 1.3 million gallon Shipwreck exhibit gives guests an incredible almost 360-degree view of both sharks and fish through an acrylic tunnel. And it is here that you actually can swim with the sharks in the Dive With the Shark Program. But there’s one catch, you have to be a Dive-certified Mandalay Bay or Annual Pass guest to take the plunge.
Aside from the 15 species of sharks and thousands of sea creatures the aquarium holds, Shark Reef also offers educational programs that teach you about these incredible species. The Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay is dedicated to conservation efforts and is fully staffed with members ready and willing to answer your questions about the animals and even provide educational seminars on the animals you see at the aquarium.
To get your fill of sharks during Discovery Channel’s Shark Week make sure you look for discounted Shark Reef Aquarium tickets right here on Best of Vegas.
Las Vegas, NV 08/14/12
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