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Critter Profile: Ophelia!
Overview!
Name: Ophelia
Species: Carcharhinus melanopterus (Blacktip reef shark)
Primary Caretaker: Aquatics Team, Adrien Adams
Diet: Sardines, herrings, and cephalopods. (Adrien says her favorite is crustaceans!)
Housed: Marine Enclosure 7
Creature Features!
‘Ophelia' is our lovely little blacktip reef shark. You heard us right! Wilson's Wildlife Solutions are now the proud owners of a beautiful little selachian! These types of sharks are always lurking in the shallow waters of warm environments. Why, they're easy to spot because of their markings! This is because this is a warning signs to humans that say, "I'm a shark! You can notice my black tips! Back off so I don't bite you!" How smart!
Ophelia here is a type of requiem shark, and that's quite fitting for a gal like her! She's a fabulous hunter, and enjoys chasing fish all year long. Blacktips sometimes will throw them self in the air to attack from up high! How sneaky! Speaking of sneakiness, did you know she ate all the fish from fishers? Quite the handful! She’s a bit hard to handle since she's quite stubborn! The only person she gets along with is Adrien! Whenever he goes to clean her tank, she swims right up.
Although beautiful, Ophelia’s a bit on the strange side. Did you know she can’t go into tonic immobility? We tried! Flipped her right upside down, and all she did was ask us what we were doing! Ah shucks, did I forget to mention that part? Ophelia absolutely loves poetry and plays. Talks about it all night long! She’s a little muffled by the tank, but she does just fine! Her favorite is Shakespeare’s Hamlet. To be honest, I think she's got a case of fictional puppy love for that guy!
There’s not a dull moment with our Ophelia! She’s a little proud of herself, but I think that just adds to her charm! She’s real proud of what she knows, and I don't blame her. Heck, I’d be flaunting all my knowledge if I knew so much too! Strangely enough, Ophelia’s not quite shy. In fact, she says that the reason she’s so great is because she’s the character Ophelia herself! Not sure if I believe it, but I’m happy if she is!
History!
Ophelia in her natural habitat!
Ophelia was found off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Poor little thing was stranded due to a hard day of hunting! Nobody was even tryin’ the help the critter! Kept saying she was possessed. Just because she can talk, doesn’t mean she’s possessed. It’s just what gives Ophelia her special charm! So many people were recording, and I got a little angry! I had to put my foot down, and get those rascals away from Ophelia so we could help her.
She really didn’t want us helpin’, she was actually enjoying all the attention. She didn’t like being touched, but we had to get her back in water. Luckily, Kate called the Supervisors. We got a great big tank hauled in for her. At first, we wanted to release her, but we noticed how many scratches she had! All over her fins, and we couldn’t just leave her there. She kept narrating what was happening. Ophelia is really talented at what she does!
Enough about that, she was pretty darn scared at first. Ophelia just cowered in a little corner, but that changed when little ol’ Adrien fed her some herring. Boy, she was happier than a tornado in a trailer park! She gobbled it right up, and geez was she excited when Adrien came in a scuba suit to clean her tank. She waddled right on up to him, and even let Adrien give her some well-deserved tummy scratches!
Special Needs and Accommodations!
Ophelia is quite the stubborn Stacy, so she needs to get used to you first! At first, she’ll wait in her little corner, real slow and quiet. Just toss some crustaceans into her tank and she’ll be bouncin’ around in no time! Boy, is she hyper. She loves to play, but the only one she can really enjoy it with is her pal and best bud for life, Adrien. Though, if you’re not him, she’ll be a little anxious about playing with you. Don’t worry though, she’ll warm up to you in no time!
Ophelia loves to chit-chat, and talk sessions with her are a must! I haven’t seen somebody so happy about poetry and plays! If you have a question, she’s got the answer. She’ll even recite a few if you ask her nicely! First time I asked, she went ahead and told me the story of Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. The gal even did voice acting! It was a truly immersive experience, one I hope everyone can listen to one day.
Notes about Ophelia!
Due to our last experience with Wobbles, we made sure to be super duper careful with Ophelia. Couldn’t let ourselves slack off like that again. I was thinkin’ maybe introducing the two, but I doubt Wobbles would be very happy with that idea. No strangers can come sit and talk with Ophelia, and that’s final! That means you can’t bring your mom, Marie!
