“Shark Week” begins on Friday at the Topeka Zoo

Local media and members of the public were invited to see a brand new exhibit at the Topeka Zoo which is called “Saving Sharks”.  Designed to give the public an interactive experience with aquatic life, one of the Topeka Zoo’s goals for the exhibit is to show the connection that Topeka and the midwest regions have with conservation efforts.

“As humans, we’re scared of sharks”, said Friends of the Topeka Zoo Fundraising/Development Specialist Shelby Revelle. “But, the reality is that the sharks are the ones are being taken from the oceans and being killed.  Instead of being scared of them, we should learn more about them and protect them and that’s what you’ll learn here when you come through our exhibit. We are a conservation center. So, that’s why it’s important to educate all of you about what’s going on in our oceans and our surroundings and there’s a lot of educational opportunities here.”

The exhibit which includes a “Touch” pool featuring ten bamboo sharks, two southern stingrays, and four sea stars will be available through the end of September.  However, it is a permanent exhibit at the Topeka Zoo. 

“The exhibit will be up until it’s too cold”, said Revelle.  “I know that it will be up through September. Last year, we had a traveling exhibit that was during the summer with the sea lions. This is our own space and our own sharks and stingrays.  So, just because it closes when it’s cold doesn’t mean that it won’t open again next summer.”

The “Saving Sharks” exhibit is open to the public beginning this Friday, July 26, 2019, at 9 am and is included with regular zoo admission.

For more information, visit http://topekazoo.org/.