London Aquarium holds shark party!

Aquarists at The SEA LIFE London Aquarium threw an underwater tea party for their sharks.

The event marks the opening of a new experience that aims to challenge perceptions of them as monsters of the sea.

"We wanted to challenge the terrible – and undeserved – reputation sharks have as blood thirsty killers," explains Deputy Curator, Jamie Oliver. "What better way of doing it than by joining all of them for tea! The team was very excited to throw the party and the Sharks didn’t blink an eye.”"

The party welcomed the new Black Tip Reef Sharks to the dramatic Pacific Reef Display and celebrated the opening of Shark Reef Encounter.

"The fact is sharks are far more at threat from humans than humans are from sharks," said Aquarist, Rachel Wicks, who attended the party. "I know I am far more likely to die from a faulty toaster or being bitten by a dog than by a Shark, so taking a dip with these beautiful creatures was a totally thrilling experience. I loved it."

TEN ANIMALS THAT ARE DEADLIER THAN SHARKS

1. Mosquito - top of the deathly list is the tiny but lethal insect which kills off around 800,000 humans from malaria transmission every year

2. Dogs - 55,000 people die annually from rabies transmission and an estimated further 6,000 UK A&E visits from bites and attacks

3. Tsetse fly – another insect pest claiming 50,000 lives by transmitting diseases like human sleeping sickness 

4. Snakes - at least 20,000 victims die from venomous bites every year

5. Scorpions - 3,250 succumb to Scorpion stings

6. Elephants - 500 people are killed a year when up against a herd of elephants

7. Crocodiles - more than 300 people reach their end in a set of jaws

8. African buffalo - over 200 victims are trampled to death

9. Tigers - 150 people are fatally attacked every year

10. (tie) Hippos - kill over 100 humans a year when feel threatened, despite the fact Hippos are also vegetarians

11. (tie) Lions - over 100 people are known to be attacked annually, for both food and reaction to threat