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Photos: There Are Sharks Just Chilling In Venice's Canals
Sharks have been spotted swimming around Venice's canals, but there's no need to get your Ian Ziering-issued chainshaw ready just yet. The sharks spotted are just harmless baby leopard sharks.
(UPDATE 4/3: Some more leopard sharks were spotted off the Santa Monica Pier today.)
Venice resident Sheena Duggal spotted them earlier this month and took a couple pictures. She told the Argonaut, "When I saw them I did a double take. They were two or three feet long, maybe, swimming in two pairs. I thought they were sharks but I wasn't sure, so I decided to take some pictures."
She sent these photos out on Twitter:
I saw four of what look like small leopard sharks in Venice canals today @Venice311 pic.twitter.com/5XCBhMJnGx
— sheena duggal (@h20warrior) February 5, 2014
@SMPierAquarium #leopardsharksinvenicanals -cool -here's another one that shows scale/size @Venice311 pic.twitter.com/rsAPwzyZgW
— sheena duggal (@h20warrior) February 6, 2014
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium responded saying they had heard similar reports, and they confirmed that these leopard sharks were probablyabout a year old. Aquarium Operations Manager Jose Bacallao told the Argonaut the sharks likely entered Ballona Lagoon through tidal gates, passed through a culvert under Washington Boulevard and eventually reached the canals. He said they'll probably leave as they get bigger—and these sharks can get up to 5 feet long.
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There's no reason for humans to be afraid of these little guys. The Dugal told the Argonaut, "When the ducks came by they got out of the way, which I thought was quite funny."
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