As the weather finally seems to be warming up, the Saint Louis Zoo is bringing back Stingrays at Caribbean Cove, the family-favorite attraction that allows guests to get up close and personal with some of its temporary underwater tenants.
On Friday, April 13, the experience returns to the zoo for its 10th year, bringing some new and familiar faces. Like before, the 17,000-gallon pool will be home to cownose rays, southern stingrays, white-spotted and brown-banded bamboo sharks and bonnethead sharks. Although every year this group has some newbies, the keepers and frequent guests always recognize their favorite returning friend.
Discover fun things to do with the family
Subscribe to the St. Louis Family newsletter for family-friendly things to do and news for local parents, sent every Monday.
“People come back to see their favorite rays,” says Ruth Dultz, assistant manager of interpreters for Stingrays at Caribbean Cove. “We always look forward to the rays coming back.”
All of the animals have different personalities for families to enjoy and experience. The sharks tend to be shy, but the lucky and patient might just get to feel their sandpaper skin when they swim by. Southern stingrays can also be shy, but under the influence of the sociable cownose rays, guests will likely get to see them before they bury themselves under the sand.
The hams of the group are truly the cownose rays, who have been known to jump out of the water and land on their bellies with a loud smack.
“The cownose rays especially are very social,” Dultz says. “They very much enjoy and like the social aspect of being together in that pool.”
Back this year as well are the special photo opportunities that capture the guests with the animals from a camera under the water.
For kids who can’t get enough of the rays, Stingrays at Caribbean Cove will also host A Day with the Rays sessions. At these sessions, children from second through eighth grade will get to learn how to feed and take care of the animals and, with their new expertise, will get to share information about the animals with guests.
A Day with the Rays will be offered on weekends from April 28 through May 27 and August 25 through September 23 and daily from May 28 through August 19. For children who’ve already completed A Day with the Rays, the zoo also has Advanced Day with the Rays sessions, where they can participate in the daily tasks of animal care and explore more about the career of an aquatics keeper. Advanced sessions will be offered daily from May 28 through August 19 and on weekends from August 25 through September 23.
Through the up-close experiences at Stingrays at Caribbean Cove, the staff hope that they can impart more on guests than just a love for these creatures.
“We really want families to just fall in love with the animals and want to make life better for them,” Dultz says.
Keepers and interpreters at Stingrays at Caribbean Cove emphasize the importance of ocean conservation. They also promote Seafood Watch, a program in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation that helps to teach people to eat sustainable seafood, or seafood caught or farmed using methods that do not harm the animal populations or their environments.
Stingrays at Caribbean Cove will open on Friday, April 13, and remain open until September 30 at regular zoo hours. Admission is $4 per person or free for children under 2.
