Page:Amazing Stories Volume 15 Number 12.djvu/125



UST a little south of St. Augustine, Florida, there exists what is probably the world's most astonishing aquarium. Appropriately named "Marineland," this gigantic goldfish bowl is comprised of twin tanks which house approximately 40,000 fish of every imaginable variety.

At Marineland, the visitor is able to see life in the marine world almost exactly as it exists in undersea reality. The designers of this aquatic marvel have, in addition to providing coral reefs and sunken rock ledges, even placed a sunken ship hull in the setting to make the surroundings doubly realistic.

Unlike most of the aquariums of today, Marineland does not segregate the various species of fish in individual tanks. Here you see sharks sporting in the same waters as porpoises, devil-fish haunting the same precincts as mullets. Visitors to Marineland are never without interesting—and often exciting—spectacles, and through some two hundred observation portholes arranged along the tank sides at varying underwater levels, they see the creatures of the undersea world living, dying, spawning, quarreling, and carrying on their daily existence in ways sometimes very similar to those of our own world.

Scientifically, Marineland has been a godsend to the students of fishlore. For, due to the opportunity for close study of the creatures living in conditions closely approximating those of their actual life, biologists are able to get a far clearer picture of aquatic existence than ever before.

It is interesting to note that, in spite of the cannibalistic habits of many fish, the curators of Marineland have been able to almost completely eliminate such intertribal feastings. This is prevented by seeing to it that none of the fish, particularly the large and cannibalistically eager variety, are ever without plenty of food. To do this takes many daily feedings, and the meals are served—to the large fish such as shark, tarpon, etc.—by divers who enter the tanks and personally hand out the grub.

There is naturally danger involved in the feeding of some of the more man-eating species, but there have never been any casualties among the diving costumed "waiters underwater." They are constantly on the alert, just in case some nasty shark might decide he didn't like the fare being offered and would much prefer human flesh instead. In cases such as this, the divers can pop to the safety of the top of the tank in an instant.

Even more dangerous is the job of tending to newly captured man-eating fish immediately after arrival. With some of these fish, such as a barracuda, it is necessary to stun the creatures with a hypo before transporting them to Marineland. To the diver who goes down to tend to the newly arrived and very indignant shark, there is the decided danger that—although the killer may apparently be still drugged—there is the chance of a sudden, angry, unexpected awakening.

But the head curator of Marineland, and the men who make this aquatic wonderland possible, take such dangers in their stride. They enjoy their jobs tremendously—and the thousands who come to view and marvel before this underwater sideshow are duly appreciative of the efforts which made and maintain it. If you're ever around, drop in. But not literally.