Calgary Zoo Reopening Cow Nose Rays Exhibit
The Calgary Zoo is reopening a popular exhibit of cow nose rays because it is confident the creatures are not in any danger. However, visitors will no longer be able to touch or feed the marine animals after 41 of them died last May under unexplained circumstances.
As a safeguard, the zoo has installed an oxygen meter to keep a closer eye on the rays. Security cameras have also been installed to keep tabs on the tank.
A shipment of five rays has arrived from Florida and the zoo expects to gradually introduce 25 more of them into a 37,000-litre tank in the Elephant Crossing building.
Cow nose rays are housed in many North American zoos – even a baseball park in Tampa, Fla. – because they are friendly animals that tend to do well in captivity.
In the wild, they are typically found on the Atlantic coast, where an estimated 40 million of them migrate in tight, hungry schools and prey on scallops. [Via]
