Georgia Aquarium's Whale Shark Exhibit through the eyes of a seven year old
Here is a quaint review of a grown mans visit to the Georgia aquariums whale shark exhibit.
If you haven't been there yet, I am sure you will want to go after reading about his experience.
That is the only word I could use to describe my visit to the Georgia Aquarium's whale shark exhibit.
I had always enjoyed watching the guppies and angel fish swim back and forth in my dad's fish tank as a boy growing up in Queens NY. Little did I know that 40 years later I would be standing in the presence of this BEHEMOTH of a fish.
Imagine standing in front of the grand daddy of fishtanks. The Ocean Voyager Exhibit was specifically designed to be home to up to six full grown whale sharks! Presently there are 4 sharks that are kept in a 6.3-million-US-gallon tank. You feel really small standing in front of this viewing window that is 23 feet tall by 61 feet wide and 2 feet thick.
The tank is teeming with fish of all sizes and shapes. The Georgia Aquarium contains over five hundred species and over 100,000 fish as well as other sea creatures to enjoy. You can't help but to stand there eyes WIDE open as you take in the underwater landscape.
I felt like a little kid again as I stood in AWE watching Yushan, 13 feet 7 inches long, and Taroko, 15 feet and 4 inches swim around the tank oblivious to the "oohs" and "aahs" of the aquarium visitors young and old alike.
Here I was standing inches from the 2 foot thick acrylic window that separated me from the largest fish species on earth. As you can imagine, it was exhilarating.
Yet these whalesharks are not fully grown yet.
How big can whale sharks get?
One resource says that the largest fish species in the world can grow up to 41 ft long and weigh in at over 47,000 lbs!
Rhincodon typus Deutsch: Walhai (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I would have to say though that my FAVORITE part of my visit was when they were feeding the whale sharks. You could see the silhouette of the little rowboats as they chummed the water with dinner for the sharks. How little those boats looked compared to these fish! The whale sharks followed the boat back and forth like a puppy trying to get a bone. It was an AMAZING sight to behold.
Can you imagine swimming face to face with one of these gentle giants?
Read the REST of the story here... Georgia aquariums whale shark exhibit
Google map to Georgia aquarium
Official Georgia aquarium site
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