Milwaukee Zoo Stingrays

[Weston]

May 28 through September 23, 2005
Otto Borchert Family Special Exhibits Building
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Cost: $1.00

This summer, venture to the tropical reefs of the Caribbean and South America as the Zoo presents a fascinating journey into the world of live sting rays! Sting rays are beautiful and graceful creatures, gliding like flying carpets along the ocean floor. Enter their underwater world through this never-before-seen exhibition. Touch, feel and experience these beautiful, and often threatened, aquaria up-close.

The adventure begins, as guests are welcomed to the exhibit's research station through a thatched-covered boardwalk, filled with marine artifacts. Here you'll encounter the colorful curious lionfish, found off the eastern seaboard of the United States. Visitors will also meet small crabs, anemones and starfish in several aquariums located throughout the exhibit. Large, colorful Caribbean land crabs, displayed on a sand island will provide the opportunity to learn about the extreme fragility of both tropical islands and coral reefs. Don't miss the mysterious moray eels, as their snakelike bodies are neatly tucked within their aquarium's caverns – displaying the diversity of coral life.

The exhibit's centerpiece, Sting Ray Lagoon, offers an interactive experience to remember. You're invited to touch both the spot rays and the Sea of Cortez rays as their velvet-like bodies graze against outstretched hands. (Food for the stingrays will be available for purchase.)

These flattened-out fish are related to sharks and have a distinctive, sleek tail with spines. Their sandy-brown color is excellent camouflage while they dig into the mud for crabs, shrimp, clams and fish to eat. Sting ray mouths are conveniently located in their bellies, so when they find something to eat, in it goes!

By touching, feeling and learning more about sting rays, visitors will come to appreciate these gentle, often misunderstood marine animals. Visit our website again in the coming months for more information on this dynamic exhibit!