On Thursday 26th August 2010 the SeaQuarium in Weston super Mare became the proud parents of a Baby Ray and Shark, just minutes apart!
First to be born was the British Marine Spotted Ray within the Ray Zone, only 3 inches across, spotting these new born babies is an amazing feat, especially with their abilities to blend in with the sea floor making them experts at camouflage and extremely difficult to spot. Ellie, aged 7, who was visiting the SeaQuarium whilst on holiday spotted the Baby whilst taking part in a Touch & Talk Experience at the Ray Zone.
Not 5 minutes later, a Baby Bull Huss Shark, only 4 inches long, was spotted in the Ocean Depths Zone, by none other than Ellie, the same young girl who had spotted the Baby Ray! An Aquarist in the making we think!
Hayley Upham, Displays Manager, along with her team of Aquarists have been monitoring the baby egg cases within the two exhibits for the last few weeks, as they wait patiently for the babies to reveal themselves. Hayley said "It's always great when visitors can witness these amazing moments, and having two births in one day is just great!"
The Baby Ray has been relocated to Dr Cods Zone, with the Shark in our Quarantine facility so that our team of Aquarists can keep a close eye on them to ensure they are feeding well, before we find a new home for them within one of the smaller exhibits within the aquarium.
We have promised to keep in touch with Ellie and once they are ready to be moved to their new homes, we will invite her back to help with the move! The babies can be seen at the Weston super Mare SeaQuarium, along with many, many more fantastic creatures. |
The Weston-Super-Mare SeaQuarium was opened in 1995, and was placed upon the first seaside pier to be built in Great Britain for over 85 years. Situated on the beach, the aquarium is surrounded by 3 miles of sand along the coast of Somerset, with panoramic views across the estuary of Wales. 
