It may seem counterintuitive to let your children touch sharks and stingrays, but not to the South Carolina Aquarium. Fifteen years after opening its doors, the aquarium will be opening up  its largest exhibit to date that will allow visitors of all ages to freely touch sharks and stingrays.

Shark Shallows, as the exhibit is called, will consist of a figure-eight shaped 20,000 gallon outdoor tank on the aquarium’s terrace. Visitors will encounter sharks, stingrays, and an great view of Cooper River at a distance. The water will be kept at a nice 80 degrees to combat bacterial and fungal diseases and keep the sea creatures healthy.

The aquarium has chosen bonnethead sharks, members of the hammerhead family, and crownose stingrays as well as southern stingrays. There will be 4 sharks, 24 crownose stingrays and 3 southern stingrays, which are all local to the ocean waters off South Carolina.

Jen Skoy, the aquarist in charge of the exhibit, says that the species were chosen for being non-aggressive and the stingrays venomous barbs will be clipped to avoid any potential attacks. The stingrays attack only when protecting themselves and the mouth of the bonnethead sharks are located on their underside, where people are unlikely to touch them as they approach the tank.

Ultimately, the South Carolina Aquarium hopes to dispel much of the myths about sharks made popular by the media and educate visitors on how important and threatened these species are in the wild. Another upcoming venture by the aquarium will be opening up its sea turtle hospital to the public, so that they can learn about how the aquarium rescues and rehabilitates sea turtles. The aquarium hopes to do this within the next two years, and if Shark Shallows turns into a success, we have to wonder what else will South Carolina Aquarium deliver for visitors.

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