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Animal Guide

Zebra Shark

47 destinations · 27 states

Native Range
Indo-Pacific coastal waters, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Australia and Japan

Zebra sharks are easy to confuse with a completely different animal when they are young. Juveniles have bold dark-and-light stripes, while adults develop a very different pattern of spots, making it especially fun to compare ages in an aquarium. Adults spend much of their time resting or slowly cruising along the seafloor, using their slender bodies to move between coral heads and rocky spaces. Their small barbels near the mouth help them investigate the bottom as they search for snails, crabs, worms, and small fish. Watch one feeding and you may see it press its mouth into a crevice, then use suction to pull out hidden prey. Zebra sharks are generally gentle and often allow divers to approach closely in the wild. Their long, flexible bodies and broad tails give them a distinctive swimming style, especially when they lift off the bottom and glide over the reef. In an aquarium, the changing appearance from striped juvenile to spotted adult is one of the details worth looking for.

Zebra Shark

Where to see Zebra Shark

47 destinations across 27 states

47 destinations

ABQ BioPark Aquarium

Albuquerque, NM

Adventure Aquarium

Camden, NJ

Aquarium At The Boardwalk

Branson, MO

Aquarium of the Pacific

Long Beach, CA

Aquarium Restaurant

Houston, TX

Children's Aquarium Dallas

Dallas, TX

Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

Powell, OH

Discovery Cove

Orlando, FL

Downtown Aquarium

Houston, TX

Fort Wayne Zoo

Fort Wayne, IN

Georgia Aquarium

Atlanta, GA

Indianapolis Zoo

Indianapolis, IN

Jenkinson's Aquarium

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ

Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

Kansas City, MO

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

Draper, UT

Minnesota Zoo

Apple Valley, MN

Mississippi Aquarium

Gulfport, MS

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium

Sarasota, FL

Mystic Aquarium

Mystic, CT

National Aquarium

Baltimore, MD

New York Aquarium

Brooklyn, NY

Oklahoma Aquarium

Jenks, OK

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium

Omaha, NE

Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium

Pittsburgh, PA

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Tacoma, WA

Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach, SC

SEA LIFE Aquarium

Carlsbad, CA

SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium

Tempe, AZ

SEA LIFE at Mall of America

Bloomington, MN

SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord

Concord, NC

SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium

Grapevine, TX

SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium

Kansas City, MO

SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium

Orlando, FL

Seattle Aquarium

Seattle, WA

SeaWorld Orlando

Orlando, FL

SeaWorld San Antonio

San Antonio, TX

SeaWorld San Diego

San Diego, CA

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

Las Vegas, NV

Shedd Aquarium

Chicago, IL

Shreveport Aquarium

Shreveport, LA

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Vallejo, CA

St. Louis Aquarium

St. Louis, MO

Toledo Zoo & Aquarium

Toledo, OH

Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center

Virginia Beach, VA

Waikiki Aquarium

Honolulu, HI

Wildlife World Zoo

Litchfield Park, AZ

Wonders Of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

Springfield, MO

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