ALBUQUERQUE, NM—On Monday, October 31, Aquarium divers are carving jack-o-lanterns underwater in the Shark Tank during the afternoon dive from 2-3 p.m.

Divers will be jumping into the tank with prepared hollow pumpkins to carve faces and designs. They will work in front of the public viewing window. The sea turtles, angel fish and other curious tank inhabitants will nibble at the extra pumpkin bits and swim curiously around and through the finished jack-o-lanterns.

“It’s a fun twist to a Halloween tradition,” said Holly Casman, Aquarium Manager. “The Aquarium staff enjoys the carving, it is entertaining for our guests, and the pumpkins provide enrichment for our fish and turtles. It really is fun for the whole Aquarium ‘family’!”

The jack-o-lanterns will remain in the tank for the rest of the day or until they are eaten by the fish and turtles.

Divers work daily in the Aquarium tanks feeding fish and cleaning exhibits. Aquarium guests can view the divers in the Coral Reef around 11 a.m. and in the 285,000-gallon Shark Tank around 2 p.m.

The BioPark is an accessible facility and a division of the Cultural Services Department, City of Albuquerque, Richard J. Berry, Mayor. For more information, visit www.cabq.gov/biopark or call 311 locally or (505) 768-2000 (Relay NM or 711).

Caption: An aquatic jack-o-lantern. Photo courtesy of ABQ BioPark.