Shark Week at the Vancouver Aquarium
bySaluting Shark Week, the Vancouver Aquarium is inviting visitors to get up close with these fierce yet fascinating animals with a Shark Week Giveaway from Saturday, July 22 to Sunday, July 30 and a chance to experience an exclusive feeding with sharks or stingrays (‘flattened’ shark cousins).
Perfect for those intrigued by sharks and stingrays, the lucky visitors will be randomly chosen upon arrival to enjoy behind-the-scenes access and dedicated time with an expert while helping feed these animals.
With replenishable teeth, six senses, and unparalleled survival skills, sharks are the ultimate aquatic predator.
Terrifying stories have given sharks a bad rap but, believe it or not, these animals have an even more frightening predator – humans. Most shark species have never been known to attack humans, with an average of only four to 12 shark-related deaths reported each year.
On the flip side, more than 100 million sharks are killed annually due to humans overfishing; now that’s scary stuff. Stingrays are not immune to this problem either. A quarter of the world’s sharks and stingrays are now threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
During Shark Week, Aquarium visitors can dive into the world of sharks and stingrays, learn about their unique characteristics, gain a better understanding of the challenges they face in the wild, as well as how to help through these fin-tastic programs and activities:
- Learn about Shark Senses, Secret Lives of Sharks, and more though talks in the Tropic Zone at 11:00am & 4:00pm daily.
- Hear stories about the sharks living off the B.C. coast during the Cold Blood in Cold Waters program in Pacific Canada Pavilion at 12:00pm & 3:00pm daily.
- Get hands on with stingrays in the Discover Rays gallery from 10:15 to 11:15am, 12:00pm to 1:15pm, 2:00pm to 3:45pm, and 4:15pm to 5:30pm daily.
- Catch a screening of the thrilling 4-D experience, Coastal Predators, following the greatest gathering of ocean predators on the planet.
Shark Week at the Vancouver Aquarium
Where: Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park, 845 Avison Way
When: Saturday, July 22 to Sunday, July 30 from 9:30am to 6:00pm
The Shark Week Giveaway is included with membership or admission. Giveaway winners will be randomly chosen by Admissions staff upon arrival. Admission tickets can be purchased onsite or online.
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1 Comment — Comments Are Closed
Armed with a conveyor belt style of 24/7 teeth, sandpaper skin, and a torpedo shaped body and a sense of smell that would make a blood hound jealous; sharks are the apex predator of the ocean. I would hope one day, aquariums like Vancouver, would get other species in its tanks to showcase off Mother’s Nature’s creation. It would be interesting if we could try to get a salmon shark (cousin of GWS), etc. to enhance our aquarium attractions. Save the sharks from cowardly exploitation and decimation by Asian consumers, as too many are now on the endangered list spawned by indiscriminate shark fin fishing, etc. Sharks clean up the oceans, and need to be protected instead of wiped out. We are guardians of this planet, and should take that duty to heart so we can watch sharks on television, see them in their habitat and visit aquariums for a close up encounter. It is much better to see them in living color than pictures from a book, because of man’s carelessness. To those countries that have evoked shark protection reefs, etc. good job.