Siletz news /, July 01, 2008, Page 16, Image 16

NOTICES
Breakfast with the Sharks Kicks Off
Shark Week
Shark Week Spotlights Sharks as Important Members
of the Marine Environment
Pongo, one of the Oregon Coast Aquarium's broadnose seven gilt sharks
(photo by Cindy Hanson, Oregon Coast Aquarium)
NEWPORT. Ore. - The Oregon
Coast Aquarium, Association of Zoos
and Aquariums (AZA) and the Discov­
ery Channel will celebrate the 21" an­
nual Shark Week from July 27-Aug. 2
with a variety of events highlighting
the fascinating world of sharks.
Breakfast with the Sharks will kick
off Shark Week, allowing visitors to en­
ter the aquarium before it opens to the
public and enjoy an elegant breakfast
buffet while learning more about sharks.
Breakfast with the Sharks takes
place July 27 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
in the Gleason Event Room in front of
the private viewing window of the
sharks in the Passages of the Deep ex­
hibit. As visitors dine, they will see how
the sharks are fed their breakfast by
husbandry staff while an aquarium bi­
ologist gives a talk about their diet,
behaviors and physiology.
Reservations are required by call­
ing 541-867-3474. ext. 2313.
Shark Week spotlights sharks as
important members of their ocean habi­
tats, unlike the man-eating monsters
portrayed in the movies. Visitors will
meet sharks of Oregon's wild coast in
the weeklong glimpse into the world
of sharks.
Sharks and their ancestors have pre­
sided over the seas for nearly 400 mil­
lion years, but in the wild today, shark
populations are suffering from human
activity. Sharks have been depicted as
man-eaters and killers for centuries.
The reality is that of the more than
350 species, only a handful pose any
threat to humans. Through habitat de­
struction and overfishing, humans have
become more dangerous to sharks than
they are to us.
Sharks live in oceans around the
globe - from warm shallows to the
cold, deep sea and even freshwater
lakes. All of the sharks exhibited at the
Oregon Coast Aquarium are species
native to Oregon's coastal waters.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shark Week Activities
Shark Week kicks off with Break­
fast with the Sharks on July 27,
8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Free giveaways, books about
sharks, trading cards, shark “tat­
toos” and buttons
Shark books, DVDs and educa­
tional toys available in the aquar­
ium gift shop
Children’s shark craft
Fascinating shark bio facts
Shark dissections and talks
The opportunity to adopt a shark
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a
501(c)(3) non-profit educational attrac­
tion dedicated to the highest quality
aquatic and marine science programs
for recreation and education so the
public better understands, cherishes,
and conserves the world's natural ma­
rine and coastal resources.
16
•
Siletz News
•
July 2008