(cont)

“Temprementally, they’re quite misunderstood.” Expert Katy Rigby told me. “They’re actually really lazy creatures, not at all sadistic or unnessecarily cruel. Whilst cats will tease their prey, sharks only hunt for food and can only really be bothered to bite once.”

Katy’s knowledge of sharks was reassuring; she likened their demeanor to that of a labrador, docile and only aggressive if provoked. Despite her warning I was still a little nervous, but began distributing the algae bags as the three sharks in the pool circled me ominously.
“In actual fact, sharks don’t think we taste very nice.” Katy added reassuringly. “We’re a little too rubbery, and don’t have too much meat on us. In the wild, sharks enjoy a diets of seals, which have plenty of blubber, they’re nice and chewy, so in fact we’re not ideal prey for them anyway.”

Thankfully for me, Katy was absolutely right; the sharks were impeccably behaved and seemed in no way concerned by my intrusion into their tank. Clambering out having succcessfully finished exchanging the bags, I found that I’d thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would definitely be returning to the Deep to witness life from the other side of the glass!

With thanks to Linda, Martin, Katy, Tom, Seb and colleagues at the Deep.

For more information see www.thedeep.co.uk or call 01482 381000.