Put Me In The Zoo: Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Review Aquarium was visited in July 2010 Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants? No, because the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is an aquarium. The aquarium does have a Komodo dragon, which does appeal to the reviewers Inner-3-Year-Old and will just have to do. As far as I can tell there have never been any giraffes living anywhere in Las Vegas (someone please advise if this is incorrect). There have been some Asian elephants over the years. There was a young Asian elephant at the Circus Circus casino that was trained to pull a slot machine. She appeared with Sean Connery in a scene in the James Bond movie “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971). Sigfried and Roy had an Asian elephant in their show who lived in their “Secret Garden” and this arrangement was criticized by animal welfare advocates because she lived without the company of other elephants. It is probably a good thing that there are no more elephants in Las Vegas. Does this aquarium have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado? I don’t have a good feeling for what species are unusual in aquariums, but Shark Reef has green sawfish, Komodo dragon, Galapagos shark and several other species that may or may not be unusual if you visit a lot of aquariums. There is a species list on the website that seems to be updated as species come and go. Does this aquarium have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado? The main shark tank appears to be set in a wrecked ship and has views of the animals from above, in front, and below. There are several shark species and other species (when I visited there were nurse, Galapagos, black-tipped reef shark, green sawfish, barracuda, green sea turtle, and several other species). Other than the Monterey Bay Aquarium Open Ocean exhibit, this is the best shark tank that I have experienced in any aquarium. Does this zoo aquarium have any good basic exhibits? I think all of the aquarium exhibits are decent. There is a moon jelly tank, an octopus exhibit, piranha exhibit, Amazon fish exhibit, and Komodo dragon exhibit. The aquarium website has a photo tour and exhibit guide of the whole aquarium. Does this aquarium have any exhibits that should be bulldozed? I did not find any substandard exhibits at this aquarium. The Siamese crocodile exhibit is a little on the small side, but not smaller than crocodile exhibits that I have seen at major zoos. Does this aquarium have any elements that make it particularly family friendly? There is a touch pool with rays, small sharks, and horseshoe crabs. I visited the aquarium with a turtle-crazy nephew who loved the green sea turtle. The tunnels in the coral reef tank and shark tank seem to awe people of all ages, but especially young aquarium goers. I visited this aquarium with family members ranging in age from 63 years to 4 months old. Everyone enjoyed it. Does this aquarium have any interesting plans for the future? I have no idea. Would an aquarium aficionado like this aquarium enough to go out of his or her way to visit it? Shark Reef is an excellent aquarium. It is the only AZA accredited animal facility in Las Vegas and is well worth a visit by any aquarium aficionado or anyone with even a casual interest in fish and aquariums.
Thanks for the mini-review, and I've heard from many ZooChatters that while this aquarium is quite small and doesn't take long to visit it is nevertheless full of high-quality exhibits.
Nice write-up. I haven't been to Shark Reef since they had the Hammerhead. I keep thinking about going back and now that they have a Komodo Dragon and turtles, I might have to.
