Newport Aquarium adding Shark Bridge

The Newport Aquarium is adding a feature called Shark Bridge for the 2015 season, the only suspension bridge in North America on which visitors can walk just inches above nearly two dozen lurking sharks.

The bridge is scheduled to open in mid-April — a 100-foot-long, V-shaped rope bridge suspended over the waters of the Surrounded by Sharks exhibit's 385,000-gallon tank.

Shark Bridge will offer an exclusive adventure and unique perspective of walking closely atop seven species of sharks, four rare and exotic shark rays, multiple stingrays and more than 300 fish.

RELATED | Rare penguin chicks hatched at Newport Aquarium

Eric Rose, the aquarium executive director, said, "Our diverse collection of sharks is the cornerstone of our more than 90 exhibits, and guests will now be able to experience them like they never have."

The addition of Shark Bridge will triple the viewing area above the Surrounded by Sharks tank prior to guests exiting the aquarium.

Also in mid-April, the aquarium will be newly exhibiting rare scalloped hammerhead sharks. The facility is working with field researchers from Hawaii, where the new hammerheads originated, to educate the public about scalloped hammerhead conservation.

The scalloped hammerheads will join 17 other sharks currently in the Surrounded by Sharks exhibit — they include sand tiger, zebra, sandbar, blacktip, whitetip and nurse sharks.

RELATED | Massive mural hails Newport Aquarium

In mid-March the aquarium will open its newest exhibit, Canyon Falls. It will be the new home to Asian small-clawed otters. The otters are back by popular demand after the aquarium exhibited them from 2004 to 2013.

Other additions to Canyon Falls include two species of lizard never before seen at Newport Aquarium — yellow monitor, a rare and active tree-dwelling lizard from Indonesia, and panther chameleon, a colorful lizard species from Madagascar.

Mermaids from Weeki Wachee Springs, Fla., will return to Newport Aquarium in October. Details will be announced later.

For more information on Newport Aquarium, visit NewportAquarium.com or call toll free 800-406-FISH (3474). Newport Aquarium is open to the public 365 days a year and is located across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati at Newport on the Levee.