I have heard very relaible information that Dubai is now about to start constrution of the worlds biggest aquarium. Contracts have been awarded. It will apparentley dwarf all previous aquariums!! Would imagine it will be huge! Does anyone have more information? Now finally a reason to go to Dubai!
You're a little late to the party! The aquarium at Dubai Mall was originally due to open late last year, but the opening date has been pushed back twice, firstly to 28 Aug (TODAY!) and now 30 Oct. The aquarium will be contained within one of the world's largest shopping malls with 1200 shops. Who needs 1200 shops? The claims over the size of the aquarium have been scaled down slightly. Latest press blurb now says it will have one of the largest tanks in the world, measuring 51m x 20m x 11m, with the largest viewing window, at 32.8m wide and 8.3m high. By my calculations that would make it a 11,220,000 litre tank, and that is indeed bloody huge. But in terms of species, the aquarium is not that large - only 85 are planned. 30 sand tiger sharks were recently delivered. You can find out most of this stuff from internet searches.
Opening of Dubai mall threatened as sharks in display aquarium turn on each other with 40 killed so far | Mail Online
Simple solution-Get rid of the sand tiger sharks. Dubai solution-Keep adding more sharks because they'll never run out of money.
Just in case you hadn't heard: the opening date has been pushed back yet again (to Tuesday 4th November) and Guinness World Records have confirmed that Dubai now have the world's largest acrylic viewing window.
If these introductions in the shark tank are anything to go by we must have serious reservations towards aquarium management. I would like to know whose behind the multi-million dollars and responsible for aquarium management. Are their senior, curatorial and keeper staff from within the aquarium trade or have no prior qualified selections been followed? On a separate note: shame that this large aquarium can go ahead where the zoo management and curatorial staff of cramped Dubai Zoo have been struggling for years at their old site and delivered first class animal husbandry and management, whereas they have seen promise upon promise evaporate that the new and 200+ ha zoo would be built (originally it was due to open in Mushrif Park in 2006). It has yet to become reality. The Dubai Zoo episode is all the more peculiar as both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have a good track record where wild animal management is concerned. These days the UAE has an inspection service and minimum vet standards for both zoos and private wild animal collections. That things are seriously moving is exemplified by the efforts in Abu Dhabi to upgrade and modernise the Al Ain Zoo into a world class conservation breeding and education facility. Plans are already in the works to hand the city of Abu Dhabi itself a zoological and botanical garden too, thus immersing Emiratis in their rich natural and cultural heritage.
Sammy the female whale shark is to be released back into the ocean. http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/atlantis-has-done-the-right-thing-1.600165
the giant aquarium at the Atlantis hotel which housed the whale shark isn't the same giant aquarium as the one at the Dubai mall (it took a bit of back-and-forth on internet sites to work that out though - there appear to be several aquariums in Dubai!)
Thanks for clearing that up chlidonias, i knew there were 2 mega-aquarium in Dubai, but didn't look hard enough, rush to post and all that
Hopefully that was the journalists error, and not the green-winged party celebrating the release... The journalistic errors that are being made are just depressing.
this is the other thread on that whale shark http://www.zoochat.com/250/atlantis-hotel-rescues-whale-shark-24962/
I just happened upon this thread and your link to this article again: when I visited in December of last year, the silvertip sharks which arrived in summer 2010 (and featured on National Geographic's 'Animal Mega Moves') were actually being kept in quarantine tanks to protect them from the sandtigers. I was told that this arrangement will likely continue for some time - at least until the silvertips are big enough.
Monster Queensland crocodile, Jock the croc, bound for Dubai shopping mall zoo Monster Queensland crocodile, Jock the croc, bound for Dubai shopping mall zoo - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
New Penguin Cove opened for Gentoo penguins : A Penguin Cove is now open at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo