MUSEUM visitors will be able to watch baby sharks grow into fearsome adults as part of an exhibition.

Two Starry Smoothhound Sharks, baby rays, dogfish and dogfish eggs have just arrived at Newcastle's Hancock Museum, where they will live for the next few months as part of the Shark exhibition.

They have been loaned to the museum by Blue Reef Aquarium, in Tynemouth, which has been working closely with it to ensure the creatures are cared for properly.

The sharks and baby dogfish will be fed every other day on a mixture of sand eels and small fish, while the baby rays will be fed more regularly but with smaller portions of food.

A close eye will be kept on the dogfish eggs to monitor their progress.

Biology assistant Nicola McNicholas, who is looking after the creatures, said: "The Starry Smoothhound Sharks are very beautiful creatures with sleek, slimline grey bodies, and we hope that feeding time will be popular with visitors.

"We are also very excited to see the baby rays and dogfish grow and the dogfish eggs hatch."

As part of the exhibition, visitors will also be able to stand in a shark cage and feel what it is like to be surrounded by the predators, and walk along a misty pier above simulated shark infested waters.