Wade Vandervort
Chilean Flamingos congregate at the Wildlife Habitat inside the Flamingo, Monday, Jan. 27,2020.
By Grace Da Rocha (contact)
Sunday, April 28, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Shark Reef Aquarium
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Underneath the shining lights of the Las Vegas Strip, Adrienne Rowland walks among sharp-toothed sharks and brightly colored fish at Mandalay Bay.
She watches as children run past in excitement, bouncing from one glass tank to the next as their eyes dart from floating jellyfish to the sole Pacific octopus hiding in a corner of their enclosure.
One day, these same youths may grow up to bring their own children to the exhibit. Rowland, the executive director of the Mandalay BayShark Reef Aquarium, has seen it many times; new hires bringing in pictures of themselves sitting on a costumed Santa Claus’ lap within a sunken ship during the aquarium’s Christmas event.
In a desert city, you wouldn’t expect to see a trio of sea turtles up close and personal — even less so on the famed Strip, known more for gambling, highly produced shows and endless food and nightlife options.
But even as the old days of live-animal attractions fade away, two exhibits have clawed their way into permanent places within their resorts. The Flamingo Wildlife Habitat and the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef are two of the last live-animal exhibits on the Strip.
“It’s kind of become part of a lot of folks’ (lives) growing up in Las Vegas,” Rowland said of the aquarium. “We’ve kind of engineered ourselves to the local population, but also we’ve been successful in maintaining attendance even in more challenging times … and so some of those things, I think, are some of our contributing factors to our success.”
In September 2022, the Mirage closed Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat after the death of three dolphins over a six-month period. It never reopened.
There were seven bottlenose dolphins, four leopards, two lions, eight tigers, one two-toed sloth, one umbrella co*ckatoo and about 350 fish between the two attractions at the time of the closure, according to National Geographic.
Previously there was also a lion exhibit at MGM Grand, but that shuttered shortly after one of the lions attacked a trainer in 2010.
Shark Reef was a $40 million project established in June 2000 — a year after the resort opened — in partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada, Rowland said.
Three years later, it became the first and only facility in Nevada accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization representing more than 235 facilities around the globe which recognizes zoos and aquariums with “the highest standards in animal care and welfare,” as well as education or conservation programs.
Accreditation occurs every five years, Rowland said. It’s a rigorous task, requiring an application process that asks about areas such as policies and procedures; a physical site inspection; an exit interview; an accreditation commission hearing and a vote to finalize whether or not the facility passed all requirements.
Standards are “constantly evolving” and “continuously being raised,” the association said. It expects zoos and aquariums to keep up with these changes to retain accreditation.
“Our philosophy is we should be (association) ready every day,” said Rowland, who sits on the board of the group and was the chair until September. “It does go beyond just individual animal care standards. It kind of runs the whole facility.”
Less than 10% of the roughly 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are accredited, the association said.
The four-acre Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo is accredited by the Zoological Association of America, which also recognizes facilities for “responsible wildlife management, conservation and education.”
Dotted across the bright pink fences of the Flamingo’s backyard habitat are signs offering information on each of the different bird, reptile and fish species amongst the multiple pond areas. There’s also two keeper talks — one in the morning and another in the afternoon — when animal specialists enter the enclosure, feed the wildlife and present fun facts to the audience.
One Saturday, wildlife specialist Jackie Liptak stepped between towering tree trunks and over long rocks to stand in front of Bugsy, a California brown pelican perched on a log, ready for a feeding.
Bugsy, named after mobster and Flamingo creator Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, is the only pelican left at the Flamingo after his partner died in 2022 — a time when the highly pathogenic bird flu had been discovered in Nevada and other states, which caused a stop on all transfers of birds, Liptak said.
Bugsy’s species was classified as endangered by California in 1971 and is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to the National Parks Service.
After sustaining permanent wing damage, Bugsy was placed in rehabilitation care and eventually sent to the resort through a contract with the California government, Liptak explained in between feeding Bugsy snacks.
Patrons also learned about baby ducklings, sunbathing red-eared slider turtles, curious koi fish and the small band of flamingos that call the habitat home.
“He’s living his best life,” said a female guest who was leaning against the fence listening to Liptak, watching Bugsy with an amused smile and occasional sip of her beer bottle.
Liptak closed her talk by teaching the crowd about ways to live more sustainably, with suggestions like buying less plastic, which can sometimes end up in oceans or rivers and harm animals.
Unlike the secret garden, which once used the dolphins and big cats for shows, the birds of the Flamingo and various animals at the Shark Reef Aquarium exist almost as ambassadors for people to learn about species.
At Mandalay Bay, that educational aspect is part of what has endeared them to the community and placed them apart from the past live animal exhibits, Rowland said. And the aquarium takes teaching very seriously, with field trips from Clark County School District children that allow kids a guided tour through the facility as well as opportunities for home-schooled students to visit on themed Fridays.
Students can hear about the animals swimming around in the tanks they were just peering into and the animal care careers they could one day pursue.
But most important, for a city that lacks large zoos, it’s about fostering a love and appreciation for the animals as well as encouraging the public to help take care of the planet.
“It’s hard to care about something that you don’t understand or you’re not exposed to or you haven’t seen,” Rowland said. “So bringing them in and getting the opportunity to share space with an animal is very important to understand their biology, just how they move, how they smell — but also, on the educational aspect. (People) have a vested interest in that animal and why it’s important, and hopefully you can take it to that next level of protection or appreciation.”
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