Did you know you have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning twice than being attacked by a shark?
At in Carlsbad, we got a chance to see that sharks are really not that aggressive. In fact, during their feeding time at the aquarium, they are actually picky about which fish they want to eat, and they only get fed three times a week! They even politely let each other eat one at a time (watch the for proof). There was no "feeding frenzy."
Sharks do have a highly specialized sense of smell and can sniff out a drop of blood in an Olympic-sized pool, but according to Marie Collins the senior aquarist at Sea Life, sharks are not out to kill people. "Sharks sometime think surfers are seals, but once they taste a human they do not like the taste."
Sharks at Sea Life eat 2 percent of their body weight, and everything is tracked. Vitamins are also added to their diet. They've been trained to go to different feedings stations and the Zebra sharks have learned to touch a tray in order to be fed.
In addition to two Zebra sharks, Sea Life Aquarium is also home to Hamilton the Hammerhead. He is among one of the only scalloped hammerheads in captivity in the U.S.
To catch a feeding, visit the aquarium on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday at 2 p.m. An education associate will be there to explain the feeding process while it's happening.
