by a barracuda. On 14 July 2008, it was announced that Hong Kong would receive another five sturgeon from the Chinese National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association in time for 8 August opening ceremony, to complement the four fish already in situ. The park's management opted to evict its sharks from their aquarium in favour of the new arrivals. On 12 December 2008, a second sturgeon died from an infection. A third one died from an injury and two nine-year-old sturgeon were found to be ill in January 2009. The two sick fish, measuring 2.3m and 1.5m, were returned to the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute for expert care. Ocean's Park returned to mainland China the last batch of six Chinese sturgeon in December 2019. Animal encounter programmes Ocean Park runs a series of programmes called "Get Closer to the Animals" which offer supervised access to its resident animals, from swimming with dolphins to learning to be a panda keeper. Holders of a diving certificate can even enter the Grand Aquarium, while an overnight camp within its dome offers a drier way to view the underwater world. There are behind-the-scenes tours of many facilities, often including the chance to get close to animals such as penguins, seals and other polar animals. Animal mascots Ocean Park introduced a waving sailor sea lion named Whiskers (known as Wai Wai in Chinese) as its major mascot in 2000. Subsequent members of the Ocean Park 'family' include James Fin (a shark), Jewel (a butterfly, now retired), Swift (a dolphin), Chief (a parrot), Professor (a turtle), Later Gator (a crocodile), Fluffi (an Arctic fox), Redd (a red panda), Goldie (a goldfish), Tux (a penguin), Doug (a rockhopper penguin), and four giant pandas: An An, Jia Jia, Le Le and Ying Ying. Internal transport Ocean Park features a long cable car system connecting the Waterfront and the Summit in an eight-minute journey, with the views of the South China Sea. It has a capacity of 4,000 passengers per hour with 252 cable cars on two pairs of ropeways. Each car can hold six passengers. Hong Kong's second-longest outdoor escalator system, at 225 metres (738 feet) long provides the main link between facilities at Tai Shue Wan and the Summit. (The longest system is the Central–Mid-Levels escalators). The "Ocean Express" funicular railway system between the Summit and the Waterfront can carry 5,000 people per hour on its three-minute