Scuba diving Santa Delivers Gifts to Shark at Blue Planet Aquarium

The festive period is underway at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port as Santa Claus gets ready to enter a tank full of sharks to hand out Christmas treats to the sea creatures.

The scuba diving Santa will be making regular diving trips in the shark-infested waters in the weeks leading up to Christmas and visitors to the aquarium will be able to watch him as he carries out his brave delivery.

Andy Hygate, from the Blue Planet Aquarium located in Chesire Oaks, said: "It just goes to show there really isn't anywhere Santa can't deliver presents – and it's certainly a lot warmer than the North Pole.

Image by : gunnarpowers, on Flickr.

"Judging from the reaction we've already had from our team members we're expecting our scuba-diving Santa to make a real splash with visitors of all ages.

"One of the unexpected bonuses is that the sharks and other fish are extremely curious and tend to follow him around the display which makes for some spectacularly close encounters for Santa."

The 3.8 litre tank is home to an array of marine species including three-metre sand tiger sharks, lemon sharks, giant stingrays and over 700 tropical fish.

Visitors to the aquarium will be able to witness the shark diving Santa every weekend from Saturday 3rd December 2011, as well as during the aquarium's daily scuba diving shows between 19th and 24th December.

Image by : Planet Scuba, on Flickr.

The Blue Planet Aquarium offers plenty of exciting marine displays for visitors of all ages, from the Coral Cave with its state-of-the-art lighting effects and collection of brightly coloured tropical reef fish, rays and puffer fish, to the 70-metre-long Aquatunnel where visitors can watch the magnificent fish and sharks swim above and around them.

The aquarium also offers a unique experience where youngsters will get the chance to swim with sharks. Children aged between eight and 15 will receive scuba diving training and supervisions so they can swim alongside the magnificent creatures in the aquarium's tanks.

If adults are feeling left out, there are also shark diving packages available where they will have the chance to get up close to the infamous ocean predators. The aquarium is a PADI dive centre and visitors can receive diving training and certification so they can enjoy aquatic adventures during scuba diving holidays in exotic destinations all over the world.