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John Ball Zoo gives update on stingray, shark deaths

Eighteen stingrays and three sharks died when a circuit breaker was tripped by heavy rains, causing a pump in the tank to malfunction and cut off oxygen.

We now know more about the death of more than a dozen stingrays at the John Ball Zoo earlier this month.

Eighteen stingrays and three sharks died when a circuit breaker was tripped by heavy rains, causing a pump in the tank to malfunction and cut off oxygen.

The exhibit has been closed ever since the incident on July 8, 2016.

Leaders from John Ball Zoo and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have been investigating the incident. They shared an update on the results of their internal review Friday morning.

"The pump did have a backup generator, which is tested regularly, but we didn't lose power, we actually lost the circuit," said Peter D'Arienzo, CEO of John Ball Zoo. "So, what we've learned from this is we need to have a secondary pump on a completely separate circuit so that if one pump goes down the other pump will continue to provide oxygen."

Zoo officials added that they will look at creating another stingray exhibit, but it won't be for a few years.

The new exhibit will be indoors, protected from the environment, with the proper backup systems in place.

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