SLEEPING WITH SHARKS EXPERIENCE AT OCEANOGRÀFIC VALENCIA
Last month, I had the opportunity to enjoy one of the activities that had caught my attention since I was a child and that takes place in the aquarium of my city, Valencia: Sleeping with sharks. Thanks to the Olocau Hostel and the Oceanogràfic itself, this fun experience became a reality.
L'Oceanogràfic is the largest aquarium in Europe and, as well as being a place where you can observe the oceans without having to travel long distances by plane and have some notions of scuba diving, it is also a centre for the recovery of the fauna and flora of our seas and oceans.
The activity began once the park was closed to the public. We were able to visit all the areas of the aquarium while we learned some curiosities about the animals that inhabit the underwater habitat and we were interested in the recovery activities carried out in the park.
Did you know that there is a species of jellyfish that is considered the only immortal animal? I was amazed to learn that jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) are capable of reversing their adulthood by reverting to a polyp-like state, in case they feel threatened, in order to preserve life.
If you are interested in this topic, there is a very interesting article from National Geographic that you can read by clicking here.
Did you also know that octopuses have eight brains? They are considered one of the most intelligent animals and to keep them stimulated, keepers often put their food in closed jars and they themselves are able to find a way to open the jar to get their food.
As for the recovery programmes, I found the change in the look of the outdoor ponds surrounding the aquarium buildings, all completely green and full of algae, very interesting. And it turns out that they are using these areas to recover the native flora of L'Albufera Natural Park. L'Albufera is one of the most important wetlands in Spain due to the immense diversity of flora and fauna to be found there. With the passing of the years and human pollution, the quality of the water is in decline, which means that the autochthonous species used to an uncontaminated environment are dying and it is very difficult to recover them. Thanks to natural algae filters that are strategically placed in places such as "El Tancat de la Pipa" and prohibitions on industry, this situation is slowly being reversed. L'Ocenogràfic is one of the organisms that is in charge of breeding the autochthonous species of flora of this natural place to reintroduce them and try to save the action of man all these years ago.
We also discovered that the sea turtle recovery programme is still active and that it is quite delicate as, when they are introduced to the sea, most of them do not make it to the water, just as it happens in an uncontrolled natural environment.
After some very pleasant chats, a dinner in one of the park's restaurants and some night games for the younger ones, it was time to sleep with sharks.
Everything was ready in the shark tunnel, with mats and sleeping bags. There we discovered that the shark tunnel and aquarium itself has mirror-like glass panes, so we didn't interfere with their activities and it also created an additional feeling of spaciousness for them.
The curiosities we were able to discover, along with learning how the recovery programmes worked and being able to photograph the experience made for an incredible evening.