Two green sawfish, foreground and background, and a nurse shark cruise along the bottom of the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef Aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A tarpon swims in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sandbar shark, top, and a nurse shark, bottom swim at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sandbar shark swims in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Aquarium general curator Jack Jewell gives the “OK” sign while diving in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. Jewell is wearing chain mail over his wetsuit as do all divers in the aquarium to protect against the rare occurrence of a shark bite. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A zebra shark sits on the bottom at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sand tiger shark, top, and a sandbar shark swim around the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A zebra shark, front, and a nurse shark, rear, are seen on the bottom of the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sandbar sharks, foreground, two gray reef sharks, left and right, and one more sandbar shark, lower rear, cruise through the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Aquarium general curator Jack Jewell swims in front of a Galapagos shark at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. Jewell is wearing chain mail over his westuit to protect against a possible shark bite. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A Galapagos shark is seen at close range in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Sharks swim at various depths in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A small school of Crevalle jacks are seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sandbar shark swims through the shipwreck in the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. Aquarium general curator Jack Jewell is seen in the background. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Two sand tiger sharks cruise near the surface of the Neptune’s Fury aquarium at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A Galapagos shark is seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sandbar shark, foreground, and a sand tiger shark, rear, are seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Crevalle jacks are seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A horse eye jack is seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sand tiger shark is seen at the Shark Reef aquarium in the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The billboard says it all, “Traffic sucks, try swimming with sharks.” The Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay gives you just that chance.
The Dive with Sharks program allows certified scuba divers, who are guests of the hotel, Shark Reef annual pass holders or Mlife members, the chance to make a dive in the aquarium.
Inside the 1.3 million-gallon aquarium, divers can interact with 31 sharks, numerous fish and three sea turtles. Aquarium general curator Jack Jewell says, “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime; to get in the water and be guaranteed a shark experience.”
In the wild, divers would never be able to see all the species that are on display at one time, he adds. The seven species of sharks range from a bottom-hugging zebra shark to a 9-foot-long female sand tiger.
Jewell says that the goal of the program, and the aquarium in general, is to educate the public about animals as a whole and sharks specifically.
“We hope people will come away with a different view of these amazing animals.”
For more information about the program, call Shark Reef at 702-632-4555.
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