ocean Tunnel
strange tides
Explore the magic of the underwater world
In March 2024, we completely stripped and refurbished our Ocean Tank and re-themed the surrounding areas, renaming this part of our Zooquarium, ‘Strange Tides’.
Our Ocean Tunnel is an underwater world of magic, where you can dive in deep and experience a new insight into the sea creatures that live in the deep ocean.
We have 2 beautiful Zebra sharks – Xena and Ripley. Juvenile Zebra Sharks have long, dark stripes along their backs, hence how they get their species name. However, as they mature and grow, they lose their stripes and gain spots! You may notice ours have a bit of both, as they are still fairly young!
Zebra Sharks can be found in shallow coastal reefs. They are usually found over sand in these areas, up to depths of 203ft from water surface level. They are commonly located in Tropical Western Pacific Oceans, Indian Oceans and the Red Sea.
Xena and Ripley came from a breeding project at Oceanopolis in France. This collection has been breeding these sharks for over 10 years. They found that strictly controlling their diets was the key to their rearing success. Oceanopolis are hoping in the next few years to begin a reintroduction project, where sharks that have been bred in captivity will be released into the wild to help increase population numbers.
Don’t worry if you’re not a shark fan (I mean you’re crazy but we accept it!). We have other species of aquatic animals in our tunnel. We have 4 Cownose Rays, and an array of fish including Look Downs, Bicolour Goatfish, Yellow Goatfish, Porkfish and more!
Want to get even closer?
We offer incredible Shark and Ray Feeding Experiences, where you can learn more about these amazing animals and help our aquarists during feeding time.
You can find more information below!
Enjoy a Shark and Ray Experience
ANNUAL PASS DISCOUNT: GET 50% OFF!
Sealife Adventure offers you the chance to get up close and personal with our Zebra Shark and our Cownose Rays! Your experience will start at our customer service desks. From here, you will be introduced to one of our experienced keepers who will escort you above our magical Ocean Tank for your health and safety briefing. Throughout your experience, the keeper will tell you about the behaviour, feeding, habits and habitat of our Ocean animals.
Price: £120 for 2 people, £60 for an additional person.
Price with an Annual Pass: £60 for 2 people with an Annual Pass, £30 for an additional person.
- The experience will start at 2:45pm, please arrive no later than 2:15pm. You can arrive earlier to enjoy the aquarium before meeting the sharks & rays.
- The experience will accommodate 2 to 5 people (minimum of 2).
- Children under 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult.
- Closed toe shoes (trainers, boots, wellies) must be worn.
- All guests receive a Shark & Ray experience certificate
- Minimum guest age 8 years old.
Please be aware that the Ocean Tank is not wheelchair accessible, and participants must be able to stand comfortably without the aid of walking devices.
We want you to make the most out of this very unique experience, so take as many pictures as you’d like!
Reviews
A SAMPLE OF SPECIES
Cownose Rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) have creased head lobes, making their head look like a cow’s nose from above, which explains their name! The largest Cownose Ray recorded in history was seven feet (2.1 m) long from the end of one wing to the other.
Find out more and experience what it’s like to live underwater with our sharks and other aquatic animals, by booking your tickets today!