'They're not scary': Discovery World welcomes 4 new Bamboo Sharks from Shedd Aquarium, Minnesota Zoo

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- If you have ever wanted to touch a shark, you now have a chance at Milwaukee's Discovery World.

Four bamboo sharks have a new home at the Reisman Aquarium, thanks to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium and the Minnesota Zoo.

"The shed aquarium had a surplus," said Discovery World aquarist, Alexis Froidcoeur. "If there's an aquarium that has a surplus of animals, and another aquarium is looking to improve their exhibits, we'll go ahead and interchange some of the animals."

Three females from the Shedd joined two existing sharks in their Caribbean Tank, and a young Bamboo Shark from the Minnesota Zoo now lives in the Touch Tank, until he gets bigger.

"I think that's really great, because guests can interact with a shark, and be able to touch a shark when they're here," said Brittanie Delorit, the general aquarium curator.

Divers are training the new sharks to find their food when it's brought to the tank's surface.

The stripey Bamboo Sharks are nocturnal, spending most of their time resting at the bottom.

"They like to find the deepest, darkest caves they possibly can," Delorit said.

Thursday's public dive was part of Shark Days -- a week-long celebration at Discovery World to welcome their new aquatic friends.

"They're just animals that not many people know a whole lot about, so I think having shark days here enables us to educate the public to kind of show you, they're not scary like you think," Delorit said.

Soon, the new sharks will each be named by the aquarium team, making them a special fixture in Wisconsin's largest aquarium.

"They're a really neat addition that you don't get to see really anywhere else in Wisconsin," Delorit said.

"They're just such an awesome prehistoric animal," Froidcoeur said.

Shark Days wraps up Sunday, with a special feeding for the touch tank shark.

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