1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,320 Hello and welcome back Shark. Here is to another episode of 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,360 Deep Dives with sharks. My name is Alex. 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:11,520 I am the host here and I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,840 500 more just to be the man who walked 1000 miles just to hang 5 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,440 out with a shark. If it's syllable wise, if you 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,800 sing it. So this is going to be the first 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,560 aquarium review, I guess that's what I'm calling it. 8 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,920 But essentially I'm going to talk about one of the aquariums 9 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,360 that I have been to and the types of sharks you can see 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,920 there and the different shark related experiences as well as 11 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:33,640 some other fun facts that I can think of. 12 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,240 I also briefly mentioned in the last episode that I'll be moving 13 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,040 and this time it is across the country to California. 14 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,320 So that will be eating up a lot of my time. 15 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,000 But I still plan to get episodes out and be streaming on Saturday 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,920 mornings unless something comes up, which I'll try to keep 17 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:51,920 everyone up to date as much as possible. 18 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:55,600 And the best way to do that is by using the tap link and 19 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:57,760 following all the socials on there. 20 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,600 Of course, they'll be in the description and that'll get you 21 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,080 to the Instagram, YouTube, really anything else that I have 22 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,320 Twitch as well, anything there. All of it of course will be at 23 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,560 the dives with sharks. And Speaking of the tap link, 24 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,320 there is a new link in there and that is find the good brand. 25 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,880 This is a clothing brand that I recently became an ambassador 26 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,760 with to help benefit Mental Health America, which aims to 27 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,240 help spread mental health awareness and education 28 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,960 throughout communities and create a future where mental 29 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,400 health access is easier for all Americans, which we could really 30 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,720 use these days. Now if you use the link in the 31 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,280 description or in the tap link or go to 32 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:41,280 https://colondoublebackslashfindthegoodbrand.com back slash question mark REF 33 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:45,280 equal DDWS. You'll also be helping me out a 34 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,680 lot, which is quite a mouthful. But to give back to the shark 35 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,280 here is you can also use the promo code DDWS at checkout to 36 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,680 get 10% off your order. Plus will be helping to spread 37 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,040 mental health awareness, which is such an amazing cause. 38 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,200 So go check out find the good using the link in my tap link or 39 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,280 description. Now to stay up to date on 40 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,400 everything Deep Dives with sharks hit the follow button on 41 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,880 Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, Amazon Music or 42 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,160 anywhere else to get your podcast at Deep Dives with 43 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,040 sharks. Feel free to leave a rating as 44 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,960 well and send any questions, share comments or any shark 45 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,200 related content to the social medias or in the comments as 46 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,240 well. I don't really use Twitter much 47 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,400 anymore, but if you end up sending me something there I 48 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,480 might miss it. So I definitely recommend 49 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,680 Instagram more or hanging out on twitch. 50 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,040 And I have gotten a couple cool things. 51 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,600 People sent me a couple egg cases to help identify. 52 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,040 Also someone sent me a couple shark teeth to look at too, 53 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:41,920 which was really cool. And I'm incredibly jealous 54 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:44,760 because I still need to find all the cool ones and I'm just not 55 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,720 trained enough to look at them and find them out in the wild. 56 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,840 But to get on to the episode now, we're going to go into, I 57 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,600 mean, this is pretty much just going to be an open love letter 58 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,160 to this aquarium. It's going to be rather biased. 59 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,080 It is the one that I went to the most as it was 30 minutes away 60 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,400 from my house growing up. And we'd also go with school or 61 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,320 field trips and could get tickets through my dad's work 62 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,360 either for free or discounted, which was pretty cool. 63 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,960 But of course, this episode, the first aquarium review, is going 64 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,480 to be about the National Aquarium in Baltimore. 65 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,440 Now the aquarium opened on August 9th, 1981. 66 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,720 So if you are listening to this episode on August 9th, say happy 67 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,040 birthday to the National Aquarium, thank you. 68 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,040 It's mission was to connect people of Baltimore and the 69 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,400 surrounding areas to nature and inspire compassion and caring 70 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,600 for our ocean planet, which I give them a lot of credit for 71 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,280 inspiring my love of the ocean and sharks. 72 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,960 My dad was telling me there was one time he had the day off and 73 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,360 he and I went while I think my mom and sister were on a field 74 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,520 trip and he let little toddler Alex kind of just run through 75 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:54,880 the aquarium and I think he said we got through the whole thing 76 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,440 in half an hour and then did it again. 77 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,040 So it was incredible. I absolutely loved it since I 78 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,800 was a baby. The Baltimore Aquarium was born 79 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:08,120 from the first aquarium in the US, which was in Woods Hole, MA 80 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,840 and eventually had to move. Now you might be able to guess 81 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:12,960 where it moved to. Any guesses? 82 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,560 That's right. It's Washington, DC in 1878, 83 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:18,480 which is actually correct. Yeah. 84 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,120 It was originally on the site of the little known Washington 85 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,960 Monument. Not too many people are familiar 86 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,640 with that giant white monument that sits right in the middle of 87 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,720 the National Mall. But if you live in America, 88 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,000 you'll hear a lot about budgets and how they need to be 89 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,080 balanced. And in balancing the budget, 90 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,200 they decided to move the aquarium from the site of the 91 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,240 now Washington Monument and moved it to the lower level of 92 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:41,720 the Department of Commerce building. 93 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,440 Well, years later, once again, the budget was balanced and the 94 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:46,880 aquarium was threatened with closure. 95 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:49,960 Now, you're probably thinking, I thought he said National 96 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,120 Aquarium in Baltimore, not DC. Well, you're very correct. 97 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,520 Shark here is. And that brings us to the 1970s 98 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,520 where Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schafer rallied for the 99 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,040 aquarium to be moved to Baltimore and it was eventually 100 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,280 built at Pier 3 at the Inner Harbor. 101 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,120 Mayor Schaefer wanted to upgrade the Inner Harbor as at the time 102 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,520 it was not very pretty and didn't have a lot of appeal to 103 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,200 it. But the aquarium was the first 104 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,960 step in making it what it is today, which now has a Science 105 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,920 Center, multiple restaurants, and a concert venue, which I 106 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,240 believe is now called Miku Pavilion, but it was formerly 107 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,800 known as Pier 6 Pavilion. Phenomenal venue. 108 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,800 I've seen see either 3 Doors Down, The Menzingers and Frank 109 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:28,440 Turner. They're incredible. 110 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,120 I highly recommend going there if you get the chance. 111 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:32,400 Now to get back to the aquarium though. 112 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,000 There are 7 species of shark listed on the aquarium website, 113 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,680 which include the zebra, horn, nurse, sandbar, sand tiger, 114 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,560 tasseled, wobegong, and black tip reef sharks. 115 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:47,000 But they also have some sawfish which are more ray than shark, 116 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,920 but they still look really cool. And they have a black nose shark 117 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,760 who's just a little guy who hangs out above the shark alley. 118 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,720 Now these sharks are spread across a variety of exhibits. 119 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,360 The first sharks that you'll come across are the Black Tip 120 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,840 Reef sharks in the centerpiece of the aquarium, the Black Tip 121 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:06,960 Reef. They have many Black Tip Reef 122 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,200 sharks here as well as the zebra sharks. 123 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,120 This is also where you'll find the Wobegong, but you will have 124 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,480 to search a little bit for the Wobegong because Homing does 125 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:16,600 love to hide. Thankfully, you've got someone 126 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,960 who spent way too much time and money at this aquarium, so I can 127 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,360 tell you right where he is. If you go into the Black Tip 128 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,640 Reef exhibit and go to the right, the closest corner to the 129 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,400 Shark Alley, you'll look straight down at that corner and 130 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,960 you should see a white Wobegong hanging out right among the reef 131 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,920 and he sticks out pretty well. Of course, there also is an 132 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,240 underwater viewing area which he'll be off to the left at that 133 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,120 point. You can also see Shark Alley 134 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,560 from the Black Tip Reef, which provides sights of sandbar and 135 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,440 sand tiger sharks, as well as the occasional sawfish, although 136 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,120 the sawfish like to kind of hang out on the bottom, so you might 137 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,080 have to go through all the exhibits to see them first. 138 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,720 Well, later. I mean, whatever, it works. 139 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,600 There are 15 exhibits throughout the aquarium that span across 4 140 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,080 floors. The first three floors span 141 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,840 around the perimeter of the aquarium and allow for a top 142 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:08,040 down view of the Black Tip reef in the center. 143 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:10,560 Now they do have the exhibits around the wall, so you're not 144 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,880 just looking at one exhibit from everywhere else. 145 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,280 But the exhibits aren't only inside the aquarium as they also 146 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,360 provide a free exhibit outside that is known as the Harbour 147 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,880 Wetland. This exhibit has also helped 148 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,240 provide extra filtration to the harbour along with Mr. Trash 149 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,080 Wheel and his army of four other trash wheels that helped to 150 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,080 remove trash from the harbour. The Healthy Harbour Initiative 151 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,960 was created to help clean the harbour after years of litter 152 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,600 and pollution had kind of destroyed the ecosystem. 153 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,360 Recently, they have restored the ecosystem to the point that 154 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,600 dolphins, otters and many native fish have returned to 155 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,400 Baltimore's inner harbour, which is crazy. 156 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,280 Also, Peabody Heights is a brewery in Baltimore and they 157 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,880 created a beer called Mr. Trash Wheels Lost Python Ale, which is 158 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,080 delicious and also helped the benefit the Healthy Harbour 159 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,440 initiative. But it's a little bit of a side 160 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:00,600 note. But even to go a little bit more 161 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,360 of a side note, when I was younger, European tourists 162 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,760 decided to come to Baltimore and they want to have a swim in the 163 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,520 harbour, which at the time was gross. 164 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,800 It actually made the news with how shocking and weird it was. 165 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,440 But recently, they hosted a harbor swim after years of 166 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:17,960 cleanup efforts have made it safe enough and clean enough to 167 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,200 swim in. The watercolor itself has gotten 168 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:21,920 much lighter, which is incredible. 169 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,440 And more and more people are able to do different things on 170 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,240 there, like kayaking, not too many locals swimming. 171 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,840 And still because it's going to take a little bit more time for 172 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,000 a lot of us to get the trust to do that. 173 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,720 But these initiatives are helping to make the waterways 174 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,400 more clean. And it also just still feels 175 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,919 like a weird thought since it was such a taboo idea years ago, 176 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:42,559 but hopefully it keeps continuing in the right 177 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,400 direction and we'll see even more. 178 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,040 But now actually to get back to the aquarium, you'll go through 179 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:50,480 multiple exhibits going through the aquarium. 180 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,680 And those include Maryland mountains to the sea, the living 181 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:58,480 shore, North Atlantic to Pacific surviving through adaption, 182 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,560 Amazon River forest, upland, tropical rainforest, Atlantic 183 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:06,240 coastal reef, and Shark Alley. But after Shark Alley, you kind 184 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,680 of get a chance to branch off to see Dolphin Discovery, Australia 185 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:14,240 Extremes or Jelly Invasion. Or you can head outside, but you 186 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,160 can't come back in if you go outside. 187 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:18,920 But that's where the Harbour Wetlands and Waterfront Park 188 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,840 are. They also have their quarantine 189 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,200 centre and their animal rehabilitation centre, but 190 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,920 they're a couple blocks away and you'd have to probably drive 191 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,400 there. It's a little bit of a walk to 192 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,400 get there. Now there are multiple cafes and 193 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,200 areas that allow for amazing views of the Baltimore skyline. 194 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:37,120 You can also go see Camden Yards, which is where the 195 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,720 Orioles play. So how about demos on? 196 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,720 Now I will say they're not doing great right now. 197 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,160 They keep losing, which is not good, but hopefully they'll get 198 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,680 it together. Now most of the sharks are 199 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:50,040 rather easy to spot as the black tips. 200 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,840 They don't try to hide, nor do the zebra sandbar, sand tiger or 201 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,480 black nose sharks. They all kind of swim around and 202 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,200 they're quite obvious to see. The zebra sharks kind of hang 203 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,200 out at the bottom, but they stand out among the sand. 204 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,240 But the horn and will be gong. They like to hide a lot more. 205 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,400 So I've already told you how to find the will be gong, but if 206 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,960 you're looking for the horn shark, you'll have to go next to 207 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,520 the puffin exhibit on the 3rd floor. 208 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,000 And if you go to the right of it, you'll see that there's a 209 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,600 couple rocks and some kelp and things. 210 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,240 And if you look under the rocks, he's usually under the one in 211 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,320 the center, but sometimes he's in the one off to the left and 212 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,760 you'll usually only get a glimpse of his tail or his body. 213 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:29,000 You might have to squat down a little bit, but you can usually 214 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:30,680 see him there. He's not too active so you're 215 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:32,960 not going to see him really swimming around a whole lot, but 216 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,600 he likes to hang out there so that's where you can find him. 217 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,320 Now these sharks are some of my favorite as I've seen them 218 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,560 through most of my life and I'd visit this aquarium frequently 219 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:44,040 and got pretty good at spotting them. 220 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,280 Of course, the first shark related thing you're going to 221 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,040 find at the aquarium will be the giant megalodon jaws. 222 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,520 When you come up the escalators now, depending on the source, 223 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,800 it'll tell you either it's real or they're a replica. 224 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,920 I would do know that they do have real teeth in them, but the 225 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,400 jaw itself may be a recreation as a lot of sources say that no 226 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,000 megalodon jaws have been found. Although I feel like I read 227 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,640 during the Megalodon episode that 2 aquariums have them. 228 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,040 But I feel like that's a super low number. 229 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,920 And I feel like I've seen more in different museums and things 230 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,000 like that. But I don't know. 231 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:20,240 I'm not great at identifying shark teeth or recreating shark 232 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,160 jaws. So I mean, like I say, there's a 233 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,320 correction corner for a reason. I could be wrong here. 234 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,200 But I will say that it is really cool and a great photo 235 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,880 opportunity because you can always go and they have a little 236 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:34,920 area, you can stand behind the jaws and then you get a nice 237 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,960 little view outside and it makes a nice, really, really nice 238 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,040 photo. So I definitely recommend doing 239 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,840 that if you get the chance. Now, the aquarium also offers 240 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,120 many tours, including their animal rehabilitation and 241 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,360 quarantine center, which is the only way you can really go in 242 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:50,400 there. You got to pay for it. 243 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,480 Sorry. That's next to the building 244 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:54,920 where I did one of my internships in grad school and I 245 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,440 felt teased every Monday, Tuesday, and every other 246 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,440 Wednesday when I would not be able to go hang out with fish 247 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:02,720 but would be right next door instead. 248 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:04,920 But that's my own personal feelings and I will get over 249 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,200 them one day. They also have an insider's 250 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,600 tour, a dolphin tour, sunrise tour, dolphin training tour, 251 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,920 which is different than the dolphin tour, the aquarium 252 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,920 sleepover and the guest diver tour, and of course a shark 253 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,600 behind the scenes tour. Now, before I move from 254 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,760 Baltimore and Goalie and I did get to do the shark tour in 2021 255 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,840 and it was incredible. They start by asking how many 256 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,400 shark species we thought there were, and there's probably about 257 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,560 14 of us in the group. And of course, everyone was a 258 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:34,000 scrub and got it wrong except for me because everyone else 259 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,040 gets the less than 100. And of course there's between 260 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,080 3:50 and over 450 species that we believe. 261 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,000 So, you know, get on my level, it's fine. 262 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,920 But of course that's a joke anyway. 263 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,960 But on the tour you got to feed some fish in the black Tip reef, 264 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,280 which was neat. See how they prepare the food 265 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,360 for the sharks and other animals as well. 266 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:57,720 They also get to see where they would provide any medical 267 00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:59,920 treatment for the sharks in the aquarium if they weren't going 268 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:02,800 to the quarantine center or if they had to be transported to 269 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,440 the quarantine center, how they would go about doing that. 270 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,720 Now, at the end of the tour, you get to go above Shark Alley 271 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:11,000 where they go to feed the animals. 272 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,440 So you get to stand on that walkway, which is really 273 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,680 incredible because I've seen the sharks from through the glass my 274 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:18,920 entire life. But actually getting to be above 275 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,840 the water and see sandbar, sand tiger and sawfish swimming by, 276 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,680 it was incredible. I, I could have cried now, the 277 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,560 guy was incredible. I'm very sorry. 278 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,160 I cannot remember her name. She was very sweet and she also 279 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,360 showed us where to see the Wobegong which was greatly 280 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:37,560 appreciated because I kept seeing it online that we had one 281 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:40,480 but I'd never found it because the dude likes to hide and I 282 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,320 don't get why. Now I have posted him on my 283 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,280 Instagram a couple times on the story so I will eventually I'll 284 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,480 have to put him in a post. I'll actually I can do it on 285 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,000 this one as well. This works great but I'll put 286 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,320 him in there. There's so many pictures I have 287 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,160 in this aquarium. This post is going to be great 288 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,320 anyway, but I would like to give a quick warning. 289 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,080 You need to be careful on your timing when you go to the 290 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,360 Baltimore Aquarium as in my findings getting there opening 291 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,680 is best as there's not many people there and once it gets 292 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,560 around noon it tends to be absolutely packed. 293 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:15,280 Also you want to be careful though if school's in session. 294 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:20,640 I went one Tuesday morning and got there around 9:00 and I went 295 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,360 inside, got to the aquarium and thought, you know what, I did 296 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,440 that pretty quick, might as well do it again. 297 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:30,560 And then as I got far enough where I could not turn back, all 298 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:35,840 the school children arrived and I was swarmed in a sea of kids 299 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,080 that do not know personal space and also looked at me very weird 300 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,080 when I answered the questions correctly during the shark 301 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,720 presentation, the low haters were just mad they didn't know 302 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,960 the answers. I was not shouting them out, I 303 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,720 was saying them to myself. But the kid looked at me really 304 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,920 weird. Should know more about sharks I 305 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,360 guess. I don't know, but I will let you 306 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,160 guys know as well. The bottom, our aquarium, it is 307 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,160 not one of those aquariums where you have like a center area and 308 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,840 then you kind of go to whichever exhibit you want. 309 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,680 You do kind of have to go through all the exhibits now. 310 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,960 Of course, the Black Tip Reef is the one on the 1st floor. 311 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,320 As you walk past that one, you go up and then that's where 312 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:17,080 you'll see the From the Shore to the Sea exhibit on that one. 313 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,560 You then curve around and they all kind of keep going. 314 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,440 You have to kind of go through all the exhibits like the touch 315 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,200 tank exhibit. And then of course there are 316 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,240 certain parts you can skip. So if you don't want to go to 317 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,400 the upper Amazon area, you don't have to. 318 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,240 You can walk past that. There's also areas where if you 319 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,120 like, if you go one place, you don't have to go through 320 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,240 everything again to get back to certain exhibits. 321 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,840 But if say for example, you want to just see the Surviving 322 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,720 Through Adaption exhibit, you do have to go through the Touch 323 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:48,760 Tank exhibit and also the Maryland from Shore to Sea 324 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:50,280 exhibit. You can't skip those. 325 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,080 It's just not possible to get there. 326 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,680 There is a flow though, and it's kind of impossible to go 327 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,920 backwards against that flow. The only issue is that sometimes 328 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:03,720 people do jam up in the middle. But of course that's not really 329 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,920 aquarium staff fault. This thing was built in the the 330 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,800 80s, so in the 70s and 80s. So it was a lot fewer people 331 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,400 coming along at that time. And they see millions of people 332 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,880 a year now. But the Baltimore Aquarium has 333 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:23,480 multiple shark talks on sharks, of course, both at the Black Tip 334 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,160 Reef, and we'll also show feeding and training sessions in 335 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,080 a shark alley so you can see those, which is really cool. 336 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,120 The Black Tip Reef also gives some amazing views from under 337 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,760 the water where you can see across the whole exhibit. 338 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,400 I can see the animals interacting and going about 339 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,200 their business and you get a good look at the deeper part as 340 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,320 well. Now it is pretty impossible to 341 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,800 get good pictures down here. Every picture I've ever tried to 342 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,480 get down there has turned out very blurry. 343 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,040 So maybe one day I'll get better at it, but we'll work on it. 344 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,520 I'd also like to quickly point out some of my favorite non 345 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,160 shark inhabitants of the aquarium including the mantis 346 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,200 shrimp, mudskippers, dolphins, which dolphin discovery is such 347 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:09,079 a peaceful and calming area, the puffins, the sloth parrots and 348 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:11,240 the northern hog sucker. Because bro is just kind of 349 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:13,720 funny when he's in his tank and just kind of looks angry all the 350 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,960 time. And last but certainly not 351 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,800 least, I do love Kai, our green sea turtle who is at the 352 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,599 rehabilitation center. I'm not sure if they're going to 353 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:24,400 move him over to the black tip reef. 354 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,280 I have tried asking, have not got a good answer on that. 355 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,080 Now the aquarium had a beautiful sea turtle a few years ago. 356 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,960 Well not a few years ago. They had her for what felt like 357 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,680 decades but her name was Calypso and she only had three fins 358 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,080 because she got in a boating accident. 359 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,760 But unfortunately she did pass I want to say in like 20-18 ish 360 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,920 but she was great I loved her I miss her very much. 361 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,080 Now those are kind of all the facts about it. 362 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:52,760 Now is just where you kind of get my opinions. 363 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,440 As I mentioned that this is pretty much an open love letter 364 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,320 to this aquarium because it's essentially not my home, but I 365 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,160 know my way around. It is where I spent so much of 366 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,120 my time when I was going through grad school. 367 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,120 And every time I would finish a semester, I would treat myself 368 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,600 to go to the aquarium and go walk around for a little bit. 369 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:16,960 It was just a nice thing to do during my breaks. 370 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:22,680 And then also, there was one day I considered going in when I had 371 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,360 my lunch break at my internship, which was just around the 372 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:27,760 corner. The only problem is that the 373 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:32,520 tickets were like $45, so it was kind of hard to swing when 374 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,080 you're a college kid still. So that wasn't the greatest of 375 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,280 options. And at the time, I also couldn't 376 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,880 afford a membership, so I try to go frequently. 377 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,520 And then also, I was able to get discounted tickets through a 378 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,760 friend, which was great. But it is usually ranked within 379 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:48,920 the top three aquariums in the country. 380 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,920 There is one that is consistently #1 and that is of 381 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,080 course, Georgia, but there is, it's kind of like Monterey. 382 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,600 I think Monterey Bay is the one that kind of bounces back and 383 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,840 forth with this one between being #2 and 3. 384 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,080 So it kind of depends on which one you're going to you're going 385 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,600 to go to or what source you go to that I'll tell you because a 386 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,520 lot of them have different things that they rely on. 387 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,800 Now. I think that the aquarium is 388 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,760 absolutely beautiful both inside and outside. 389 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,520 Any time that you see Baltimore pop up on any of like the 390 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,160 national broadcast and they're showing the city, they always do 391 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,960 a shot of the inner harbour. And if you see the building that 392 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,440 has the blue like waves on the side, especially at night when 393 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:32,320 those lights are on there, that is the aquarium. 394 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,600 It's got that giant pyramid at the top, which is it's Amazon 395 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,760 rainforest area. And it's just architecturally 396 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,320 and visually like appeasing. It's really nice. 397 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:46,760 It also is just a really calm, beautiful place to go. 398 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,320 It's exciting and of course there are many kids and families 399 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:51,760 there. So if you're kind of looking to 400 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,560 get away from them, you're not going to. 401 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,000 It is the, I think the centerpiece of the Inner Harbor. 402 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,000 Of course, there are a couple other things that people could 403 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,240 argue, such as the USS Constellation, the Trade Center 404 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,480 down there. There are a few that people 405 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,120 could definitely argue, but I feel like when I go to the Inner 406 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,560 Harbor, of course my eyes immediately going to that. 407 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,760 So it does give you amazing views of Federal Helm of the 408 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,000 Baltimore Inner Harbour. I got some amazing pictures of 409 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,440 the skyline through there and it's just so nice and calming 410 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,480 and it's literally my second home. 411 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,080 It's just fantastic. I can't give you enough of 412 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,000 praise. The only thing I can complain 413 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,200 about is I did reach out to them to see if any of their shark 414 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,440 experts would like to be on the podcast and they're in a social 415 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:43,120 media person was very nice. And she said that she would ask. 416 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,040 And I don't know if they never got back to them or, or what 417 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,080 happened or if just it fell by the wayside because of course 418 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,920 they got a lot going on. But unfortunately, I have not 419 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:55,600 had the chance to, to talk to them. 420 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,440 And of course, living in Florida, have not had a chance 421 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,520 to, to run over there and, and ask. 422 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,880 But I will say that it's one of the places that I've not heard 423 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,040 many people complain about working at the staff. 424 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,840 It seems to be the same every time I go with minor changes. 425 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,600 I did also have one of my professors in college for my 426 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,160 history of zoos and aquariums class. 427 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,000 Formerly used to work at the aquarium and was the keeper of 428 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,800 the puffin exhibit. The puffins are also awesome 429 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,520 because they have microphones inside the exhibit, so all the 430 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,680 sounds you're hearing outside of the exhibit are coming from 431 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,600 inside the exhibit, which is so cool. 432 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,320 But it's a really great aquarium and it does take about 30 to 45 433 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:39,960 minutes to get through if you're going fast. 434 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:42,520 It can take a couple hours if you're reading every single 435 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,440 thing on the wall, but I feel like a lot of people don't do 436 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,680 that. Sometimes you just want to look 437 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,360 at fish and run. Now they do also at their 438 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,080 electric eel. They do also have a meter that 439 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,840 shows when it's pulsing and stuff like that. 440 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,200 So there is so many cool things that you can do and see and I 441 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,960 just love it so, so much. I highly recommend it if you're 442 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,480 ever going to Baltimore. Of course, I also recommend 443 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,960 catching an Orioles game. Camden Yards is the stadium that 444 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,760 they designed every other baseball stadium in the MLB 445 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:17,320 after one after it was built. And also on top of that, you 446 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:18,680 also have the Edgar Allan Poe house. 447 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,680 So this is also low Kia tourism ad for Baltimore. 448 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:23,240 But they're not paying me to give it to you. 449 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,680 So I'm going to end it there. But this was the first aquarium 450 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,960 review that is a little different than the other things. 451 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,120 Oh, also go check out the Guinness brewery because that's 452 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:34,720 really cool too. Shout out to everyone that works 453 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,680 there. I miss you all. 454 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,720 I used to work there as well. I don't anymore because I live 455 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,120 in Florida anyway. But yeah, that was the first 456 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:44,960 aquarium review. It's a little different than the 457 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,200 other things. But I wanted to get something 458 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:49,760 going for the shark here as while I was busy and I thought 459 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,440 this would be quick and easy and not a lot of research. 460 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,440 And I needed an episode that was going to be quick and easy. 461 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,880 And this one was not quick, easy, and was a lot of research. 462 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,240 So mission failed successfully. I guess, you know, we got it out 463 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,840 eventually. But happy Easter everyone. 464 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,440 I thank you all for listening and hanging out and all the 465 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:10,720 amazing things you guys have done. 466 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,440 I appreciate it very much. Please follow along on the 467 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,400 social media to stay updated. I try to give you guys an idea 468 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,520 of when things are coming out, what's going on. 469 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,200 You can follow on YouTube as well. 470 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,960 It's mostly just the podcast and the streams as well. 471 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,440 But of course, if you guys want to leave a comment, give us a 472 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,000 rating, tell me a great shark fact and I'll share it with 473 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,280 everyone as well. And thank you guys so much. 474 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,040 You all take care.