SAM: HEY GUYS, IT’S ME, SAM! OKAY, WE’RE GOING ON A DANGEROUS DIVE, DOWN DEEP IN THERE! TO CHECK OUT A SPECIES OF FISH THAT’S BEEN RULING THE WAVES SINCE THE AGE OF THE DINOSAUR! HAVE YOU SEEN IT? IT HAS BEADY EYES, A POINTY FIN, REALLY SHARP TEETH, AND IT LIKES TO PATROL THE WATERS. THAT’S RIGHT, YOU GUESSED IT, IT’S A GIANT, SHARK? YOU MEAN THIS LITTLE GUY? OKAY WELL MAYBE A “NOT SO” DANGEROUS DIVE. COME ON LET’S GO!
♪ [THEME MUSIC PLAYING] ♪
I’VE BEEN DIVING IN OCEANS ALL AROUND THE US, BUT TODAY I’LL BE DIVING IN THE ATLANTIC CORAL REEF TANK TO CHECK OUT THE BONNETHEAD SHARK. BUT BEFORE I SUIT UP, LET’S TALK WITH NATIONAL AQUARIUM DIVE SAFETY OFFICER, JOSH FORONDA. TELL ME HOW YOU GOT INSPIRED TO SCUBA DIVE AND GET INVOLVED IN THE NATIONAL AQUARIUM. JOSH: FUNNY ENOUGH, MY EARLIEST INSPIRATION WAS ACTUALLY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. THEY PRODUCED A DOCUMENTARY ON SHARKS BACK IN 1982, AND THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST DISCOVERED MY DEEP LOVE OF SHARKS.
♪ ♪
SAM: JOSH SOUNDS LIKE THE PERFECT GUY TO TEACH US ABOUT THE BONNETHEAD. ANOTHER SAFETY DIVER, HOLLY IS GOING TO JOIN US. LET’S GO CHECK OUT THIS SHARK! THE BONNETHEAD LIKES TO HANG OUT IN THE DARK AREAS OF THE TANK.
JOSH IS SHOWERING THESE BLUE TANGS WITH GRAVEL WHICH CREATES A GENTLE SCRATCHING SENSATION THAT ACTUALLY FEELS GOOD TO THE FISH, KIND OF LIKE A BACK SCRATCHER.
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BUT WHERE’S THE BONNETHEAD? LOOK THERE IT IS, EVERY TIME I TRY TO GET CLOSE, IT JUST SWIMS AWAY. MAYBE JOSH OR HOLLY WILL HAVE BETTER LUCK. IT’S MUCH SMALLER THAN I THOUGHT AND IT KIND OF LOOKS LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE HAMMERHEAD. VERY COOL!
HOLLY: SAM?
SAM: YEA?
HOLLY: YEA, HOW ARE YA?
SAM: THAT WAS AWESOME, I LOVED IT.
JOSH, YOU’RE THE SHARK GUY. RIGHT?
JOSH: I’M A BIG SHARK GUY.
SAM: SO WE HAVE ONE BONNETHEAD IN HERE.
JOSH: THAT’S CORRECT.
SAM: AND THE BEHAVIOR OF THIS BONNETHEAD IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE BEHAVIOR OF MOST BONNETHEADS IN THE WILD. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO US?
JOSH: IN THE WILD, BONNETHEADS WOULD NORMALLY INHABIT COASTAL ESTUARY WATERS, MEANING THAT THEY WANT TO HAVE SOME OF THE FLAT OUT OPEN AREAS NEAR THE SHORE, OR ALONG THE COAST, WHICH IS WHY HE TENDS TO PREFER THIS SECTION OF THE TANK.
SAM: OKAY SO HOW BIG IS FULL GROWN FOR A BONNETHEAD, WOULD YOU SAY?
JOSH: YOU WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT THE AVERAGE ADULT BONNETHEAD TO BE ABOUT MAYBE THREE, THREE AND A HALF FEET.
SAM: THAT’S KIND OF SMALL, IF YOU COMPARE IT TO A
HAMMERHEAD, WHICH MAX SIZE IS MAYBE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
JOSH: THE MAX SIZE FOR THE GREAT HAMMERHEAD,
WHICH IS THE LARGEST OF THE FAMILY, IS ABOUT 19 OR 20 FEET.
SAM: WOW, THAT’S REALLY LONG. THESE BONNETHEADS ARE REALLY TINY. IT’S BEEN FUN LEARNING ABOUT THE BONNETHEAD. LET’S HEAD TO THE BLACK TIP REEF WHERE WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT OTHER SHARKS. I JUST HAD AN AMAZING SESSION WITH MY DIVE BUDDY, JOSH. NOW, WE’RE AT THE BLACKTIP REEF, AND WE CAN SEE SOME NEW SHARKS HERE. WHAT DO WE HAVE DOWN HERE?
JOSH: HERE IN THE BLACKTIP REEF, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SEVERAL SPECIES OF SHARKS, INCLUDING THE BLACKTIP REEF SHARKS FOR WHICH THIS EXHIBIT GETS ITS NAME. WE ALSO HAVE TWO SPECIES OF WOBBEGONG SHARKS.
SAM: DID HE JUST SAY, WOB-BE-GONG?
JOSH: THE TASSELED WOBEGONG AND WE HAVE TWO ORNATE WOBEGONGS.
SAM: THERE ARE SO MANY SPECIES OF SHARKS THAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT.
JOSH: AND LASTLY, WE HAVE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHARKS, THE ZEBRA SHARK.AND WE HAVE TWO OF THEM, AS WELL: OUR LARGE FEMALE, ZOE, AND OUR YOUNG MALE ZEKE.
SAM: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE DIDN’T HAVE SHARKS?
JOSH: MORE SPECIES EQUALS MORE DIVERSITY, WHICH MEANS A MUCH HEALTHIER, MUCH RICHER ENVIRONMENT. SO IF SHARKS ARE ABSENT, THE ANIMALS AND FISH THAT THEY CONSUME, THEIR POPULATIONS WILL GROW, AND THEY WILL CONSUME MORE RESOURCES AND OCCUPY MORE SPACE IN THESE CORAL REEFS, AND THAT MEANS THAT THERE’S LESS SPACE AND LESS FOOD FOR OTHER ANIMALS.
SAM: WHO KNEW THAT THE SHARK SPECIES COULD BE SO DIVERSE AND HAVE SUCH AN IMPACT? JOSH, IT’S BEEN SUCH AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY LEARNING ALL OF THIS STUFF ABOUT SHARKS THAT
I DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE. WHAT DID WE LEARN? WE LEARNED THAT BONNETHEADS, ON AVERAGE, ONLY GROW UP TO THREE TO FOUR FEET LONG. AND THEY’RE VITAL TO OUR MARINE ECOSYSTEM. AND THIS LITTLE GUY, IS A MEMBER OF THE HAMMERHEAD FAMILY. SHARKS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES. AND AREN’T SO SCARY AFTER ALL. UNTIL NEXT TIME EVERYBODY!
♪ MAN: WOO, WOO, WOO, ♪
♪ WOO, WOO, WOO, OOO. ♪
♪ WOO, WOO, WOO. ♪♪
