DES MOINES, Iowa — The Blank Park Zoo announced on Tuesday that sharks can be seen for the first-time ever in the aquarium.
Two bamboo sharks, named Snoopy and Pluto, now call the big reef aquarium in the zoo’s Discovery Center home. Bamboo sharks are bottom-dwellers and use their pectoral fins to glide along the ocean floor to find food. The sharks also tend to rest during the day and become more active at night.
“While these sharks may be small, their addition brings big opportunities for education and conservation,” Anne Shimerdla, zoo president and CEO, said. “We’re excited for our guests to connect with this new species and appreciate the rich diversity that makes our oceans so extraordinary.”
According to zoo officials, this is the first time the zoo has ever been home to sharks.
Snoopy and Pluto aren’t the only new residents, though. The zoo said it’s also added a tiger shovelnose catfish, measuring at three feet long, to the Amazon aquarium in the Discovery Center.
The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the zoo’s website.
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