Georgia Aquarium, Pemberton Place, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The aquarium is currently one of only two aquariums in the United States to exhibit Great Hammerhead sharks; the other is the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. The aquarium has also been home to as many as five 11 foot (3 m) long beluga whales at once. Two males named Nico and Gasper were acquired from a Mexico City amusement park where they lived under a roller coaster. Prior to the opening of the aquarium, they were joined by three females on breeding loan from the New York Aquarium: Marina, Natasha, and her daughter, Maris. Because of insufficient weight, skin lesions, and a bone disease, Gasper was euthanized on January 2, 2007. Marina died on December 1, 2007 of what may have been natural causes (she was 30 years old). The belugas were transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio where Nico died unexpectedly on October 31, 2009. On March 2, 2010, Maris and a new male, Beethoven, were returned to the Georgia Aquarium for the public to enjoy while Natasha was paired with a potential mate and remains in San Antonio. Two juvenile belugas, Grayson (male) and Qinu (female), also from San Antonio, were added in November 2010. The aquarium is one of six U.S. aquariums with belugas in their collections.
Continuing its drive to display marine animals rarely seen in the United States, the aquarium acquired a manta ray from an aquarium facility in Durban, South Africa. Named "Nandi," the manta was caught by accident in nets meant to protect the coast from sharks. Officials at the Durban facility determined that the manta had outgrown its home, and offered the manta to the much-larger Georgia Aquarium. Nandi first went on display in the Ocean Voyager exhibit on August 25, 2008 as the first manta ray on display in the country, and making the aquarium one of only four in the world to display one. A second manta ray named Tallulah was added to the collection in September 2009. On July 19, 2010, the Georgia Aquarium announced that it had acquired yet another manta ray, an 8-foot (2.4 m) female named Billi, which was found off the coast of Florida. The aquarium recently added a fourth manta ray to Ocean Voyager. The newest ray is the first male added to the exhibit. He measures almost 9 feet (2.7 m) across, weighs approximately 265 pounds (120 kg) and was also found off the coast of Florida.