Georgia Aquarium (Whale sharks and manta rays!)

Jonathan visits the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta—the largest aquarium in the world—where they keep not one but four whale sharks in captivity, as well as two manta rays. Whale sharks are the largest fish on Earth and Jonathan learns how these animals are maintained in captivity while he dives with them in a 6 million gallon fish tank!

#underwater #scuba #scubadiving #sharks #whalesharks #aquarium #georgiaaquarium #georgia #atlanta #mantarays

This segment was originally uploaded in 2012. This is a new version in HD.

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The Georgia Aquarium is one of the world’s most spectacular. It houses exhibits ranging from coral reefs to kelp forests, salt water to fresh water, warm water to cold water, and just about everything in between.

But there is no doubt that the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager exhibit is the most impressive part of the Georgia Aquarium

There is also a tunnel through the Ocean Voyager so people can walk underneath the marine life, which includes some of nature’s most magnificent animals like manta rays and whale sharks.

Keeping manta rays and whale sharks in captivity is difficult. First of all, these are huge animals! Mantas grow larger than a car, and whale sharks larger than a bus! So they need a lot of space. But they pose another interesting challenge as well—both are filter feeders. In the wild they strain their planktonic food by swimming with an open mouth and capturing small animals from the water on their gill rakers.

In an aquarium, there is no plankton. Aquarists had to train the animals for hand feeding.

To learn how they feed the mantas, I make my way to the top of the Ocean Voyager exhibit, a nearly football field-sized fish tank!

The mantas are fed a combination of krill and small fish from a ladle.

Since the mantas can’t swim in place, they have to be fed while they swim by gently ladling the food out in front of their mouths.

While I get the bird’s eye view of the feeding from above, the aquarium visitors get the fish eye view from below in the tunnel with the sharks feeding directly overhead.

It all started in Taiwan, where whale sharks are hunted for food. The Georgia Aquarium teamed up with a local fisherman to capture a live whale shark. Once they had it in a pen, they transferred it to a specially-made sling. Then it was transferred into a custom tank with life support for an overseas flight. Finally the shark was flown on a private charter across the Pacific all the way to Atlanta, where it was driven to the aquarium. It’s quite a journey for a shark!

Given how expensive and difficult it is to get whale sharks all the way to the Georgia Aquarium, the staff isn’t taking any chances when it comes to their care.

The rooms where food is prepared are nearly as clean as operating rooms.

And I’m about ready to try diving in this inland ocean, so I head upstairs for my briefing with divemaster Devon Fleming.

While I go and get my gear on, they put the dock into the water. They don’t leave it in all the time because the animals might injure themselves on it.

Before I even have my camera, a whale shark swims silently right below the dock. It’s hard to believe I’m in a giant fish tank with a whale shark!

On the bottom, a Great Hammerhead comes over to check me out!

I follow Devon down towards the deep end of the exhibit, and Tallulah the manta ray swims over to say hello.


A whale shark, with a school of jacks keeping him company swims over me. The whale sharks move around the huge tank in circles and figure eights. They are used to the divers and don’t mind us at all.

There is so much marine life in this exhibit that sometimes I forget I’m doing a dive in an aquarium. My camera moves from whale shark, to Great Hammerhead. Then on to Nandi, the other manta ray, doing barrel rolls. Then back to another hammerhead.

On the bottom, a sawfish catches my attention. This is a kind of ray with a saw-like nose for hunting prey. I have never even seen one of these in the wild but they have nearly a dozen of them in this exhibit.

One of Aquarium staff divers peacefully enjoys a sand tiger shark lazily drifting by. In spite of their fierce-looking teeth, these sharks are no threat to people. They eat smaller prey. Soon my dive nears the end.

On our way back to the shallow end of the exhibit, I pass once again over the tunnel with the people looking up. And Tallulah buzzes by again as if to bid me farewell.

Devon gives me the signal to head to the surface. It was such a short dive…I don’t know if I can bring myself to getting out of the water.