Shark Reef Aquarium
Shark Reef Aquarium is a public aquarium on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is located at and owned by the Mandalay Bay resort. The attraction opened on June 20, 2000. Its main tank is, one of the largest in North America. The facility is, and displays numerous species of sharks, rays, fish, reptiles, and marine invertebrates. It also features a shark tunnel. The reef was developed in consultation with the Vancouver Aquarium.
History
Shark Reef was developed with help from the Vancouver Aquarium. It was built at a cost of $40 million, and was opened on June 20, 2000. Shark Reef received its 1 millionth visitor in May 2001, and had generated $10 million up to that point. It was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2003.As of 2017, Shark Reef had 80 workers, including 35 aquarists. The facility receives an annual 900,000 visitors on average.
In 2020, Shark Reef announced plans for a 36-seat virtual reality theater showing aquatic short films. It opened later that year.
Exhibits and animals
The facility is designed to resemble a sinking ancient temple. It includes the largest aquarium on the Las Vegas Strip, holding. Features include a shark tunnel, and a viewing area designed as the interior of a sunken ship. The shipwreck tank, touted as the third largest in North America, is home to several endangered and threatened marine species including green sea turtles, Galapagos sharks, blacktip reef sharks, sand tiger sharks, and green sawfish.Upon opening, it included the only indoor shark exhibit on the U.S. west coast, featuring 10 shark species. Other animals have included small stingrays, horseshoe crabs, moon jellyfish, and water monitors. Sharks generally do not hunt the other fish present in the aquarium, as they are kept well-fed. As of 2005, Shark Reef had more than 2,000 aquatic animals and reptiles, and one employee responsible for preparing their food. Large lights above the tank are used to indicate feeding time for the sharks. The facility spent $150,000 annually on food, equaling about 500 pounds per week. In total, the facility had 65 employees.
By 2007, the aquarium contained 15 types of sharks. In 2008, Shark Reef received a Komodo dragon from the Miami Zoo. Additional Komodos were introduced in 2013. By that time, the aquarium had also introduced a diving program, allowing guests to swim with the sharks. Guests can also feed the various animals, through a separate program introduced in 2013.
Two scalloped hammerheads were introduced in 2015, making Shark Reef one of three aquariums in the U.S. to feature the species. At the time, the aquarium contained 16 shark species representing 100 individuals. It also had 14 exhibits dedicated to the various animals. A new exhibit, introduced later in 2015, featured aquatic animals preserved through plastination.