IF YOU prefer your sharks safely behind glass, check out the Shark Lagoon at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California (). Since its opening last June, approximately 1.3 million people have visited the exhibition, where more than 150 sharks swim in the 1000-square-metre lagoon. If you鈥檙e feeling brave you can even get up close to some, such as the zebra, bamboo and epaulette sharks, in shallow 鈥渢ouch pools鈥�.
Until December, the aquarium is also home to 鈥淛ellies: Phantoms of the Deep鈥�, a display of over a dozen species of sea jellies, or as they are more commonly known, jellyfish.
Last month, the Monterey Bay Aquarium became the first aquarium in the US to display the rare and multicoloured flower hat jelly. It鈥檚 just one of a multitude of jellies on show in 鈥淛ellies: Living Art鈥� until January 2005. One is the egg-yolk jelly, which looks like a cracked egg poured into water, its tentacles reaching 6 metres in length.
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Fabulous facts abound: did you know that if its food supply is low, a jelly can 鈥渄e-grow鈥� so that it needs less food? In May, the exhibition won the American Association of Museums Excellence in Exhibition award. You can preview the exhibition online at .
The beautiful weedy sea dragon, one of only two known species of sea dragon, can be admired at Sydney Aquarium (). Unlike sea horses, which have a pouch in which they rear their young, male sea dragons carry their mate鈥檚 eggs fixed firmly under their tails. Found only in Australia, the weedy sea dragon joins the aquarium鈥檚 line-up of over 650 all-Australian species.
If you鈥檙e in London between 4 and 10 August, check out 鈥淏ritish Aquatic Life鈥�, a themed week at the London Aquarium. According to its website, the aquarium boasts a species of fish for every day of the year, and needs salt equivalent to the weight of nine double-decker London buses each year to make up brine. In case you thought you鈥檇 escaped the sharks, the aquarium鈥檚 webcam at broadcasts live from the Pacific display, home to the sharks, 24 hours a day.
The aquarium鈥檚 online Frequently Asked Questions regretfully note that 鈥渄ue to insurance and liability reasons鈥� you are not allowed to swim with the sharks.