While visiting Toronto for Tourism Cares in late October, I had the pleasure of touring Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. I rank this as a must-see on any visit.
The aquarium includes four touch tanks, the largest horseshoe crab tank in the world, an enormous jellyfish tank, Ray Bay (with four species of stingray) and the Dangerous Lagoon, an action-packed exhibit that features a tunnel with a moving sidewalk. You can hop on and off to admire stingrays, sea turtles and fish as they swish over your head.
For the more adventurous visitor, the aquarium gives you the chance to suit up and swim with the sharks. Reservations are required for this popular program.
While I strolled through the galleries, I saw staff divers swimming about, cleaning the tanks, feeding and checking up on the aquatic life. (One diver was carving a jack-o-lantern underwater!)
While you’re there, be sure to check out my favorites: the scarlet cleaner shrimp in one of the touch tanks and Planet Jellies, an otherworldly gallery of backlit jellyfish.
To learn more, go to ripleysaquariumofcanada.com.
Top photo: Planet Jellies at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Photo by Mary Catherine Dorsett
