I am very excited about the new Georgia Aquarium here in Atlanta. The aquarium is being funded by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, who has donated $200 million towards the project. When it opens, the Georgia Aquarium will be the largest aquarium in the world, with over 100,000 animals and over 8 million gallons of water.

Of those 8 million gallons, 6.2 million will be in the tank of Ralph and Norton, two young whale sharks who will be the aquarium's feature attractions. However, it seems not everyone is as excited to see these two fish as I am.

In other aquarium news, two male beluga whales arrived yesterday on a UPS flight from Mexico. Nico and Gasper will soon be joined by three female beluga whales. Aquarium staffers hope that the whales will then get it on, leading to lots of baby belugas.

The aquarium is scheduled to open to the public on November 23, but if you want to get an advance look, you can buy an annual pass and get in two days early. I bought mine last week and I will be there first thing on Monday the 21st.

[ajc bugmenot]