NEWPORT, Ky. — There have been some shark sightings recently in Kentucky, but rest assured, no one has been hurt.
The Newport Aquarium is celebrating Shark Summer. And while it’s a fun opportunity to get a closeup look at some rare animals, it’s also a chance to educate about the importance of keeping them alive.
People may have seen them in news headlines (that don’t do them any favors), or in movies that portray them as monsters. Maybe they’ve even seen them in their nightmares.
But at the Newport Aquarium, people can see sharks up close, pet them and, the staff hopes, understand them on a deeper level.
“We want people to leave the aquarium, and be inspired to do what they can do to protect shark species around the world. We are in Kentucky, so this is the closest you can get to the ocean without a snorkel,” said Public Relations Manager Madison Brady.
For Shark Summer, the aquarium is welcoming two new zebra sharks and a young shark ray, which join the dozens of shark and ray species already swimming around the 385,000-gallon exhibit.
The ray, Shan, will provide valuable information to biologists that could help save her critically endangered species. Preserving all shark species is one of the main messages the aquarium is trying to impart on guests.
“In the wild, they will eat the sick and the dying fish. So they keep our oceans healthy,” Brady said.
Eliminating single use plastics and shopping for sustainable seafood are ways Kentuckians can help sharks. If they’re thinking, “why help them?” the aquarium says an ocean with no sharks is much scarier than one full of them.
“Apex predators are meant to be scary, right? They’re at the top of the food chain, but it’s just their life cycle. In here we’re not their food item,” said General Curator for the Animal Care Department, Kelly Sowers. “They are not man-eaters, and they are here to help our environment.”
That said, a healthy respect for the animals is a good thing. And sometimes exposure therapy is the best way to achieve that respect, whether that’s in “Shark Central” or walking over the “Shark Bridge,” suspended just inches over the tank.
As for rumors of people seeing sharks in Kentucky outside of the aquarium, it is true that some sharks can adapt, however, it’s unlikely.
“There are bull sharks that are notorious for going up river into fresh river, but I don’t feel like there are any in Kentucky,” Sowers said.
So one’s best bet to see a shark in Kentucky is still behind glass.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the aquarium is offering two additional months for free when visitors get a gold or platinum membership. Shark Summer runs through Sept. 8.