Mermaid for hire: Blue Zoo closure leaves mermaid out of work
By Pepper Purpura
Click here for updates on this story
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Monday will mark the final day for Blue Zoo Aquarium at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines. It’s also the final performance for its resident mermaids in the facility’s tanks.
The aquarium is closing after being evicted from its space near Jordan Creek Mall. For Angie Cunningham, the closure means losing far more than a part-time job.
Inside Blue Zoo’s 48,000-gallon saltwater tank, Cunningham transforms into “Sirena,” a professional mermaid performer complete with handmade tails and jeweled crowns to dazzle the aquarium’s young visitors.
“It just becomes all part of you,” Cunningham said.
But beneath the sparkles are years of specialized training. Cunningham earned a PADI scuba mermaid instructor certification, completing coursework in breath control, underwater rescue, emergency response and endurance swimming while performing in her monofin tail.
She’s practiced free diving in the ocean, learned how to safely rescue unconscious swimmers while wearing a tail and completed long-distance swim tests designed to prepare professional mermaids for live performances and teaching others how to safely tail swim in the layers of costuming.
“Altogether, you’re probably looking at maybe 20 pounds,” she said about the costume’s weight.
She said few people in Iowa have completed the advanced training.
Her equipment is also a significant investment. Cunningham owns multiple handcrafted tails costing thousands of dollars, along with custom tops, crowns and specialized monofins, a specialized piece of scuba gear resembling two. All belong to her, not Blue Zoo Aquarium.
Cunningham said she originally joined Blue Zoo not as a performer, but as an educator.
She previously volunteered at Blank Park Zoo and said animals had always been a major part of her life. After the death of her only son several years ago, she said performing as a mermaid helped her heal emotionally and start prioritizing her health.
Over time, Cunningham said the role became deeply personal.
“There’s times where I’m swimming where I feel like he’s got his hand on my shoulder,” she said of her son. “The water is always the place now where I find him.”
For Cunningham, one of the hardest parts of the closure is losing access to the tank itself.
“There’s nowhere else in Des Moines I’m going to find a big tank where there’s a window in it, and I can come down and interact and really live that mermaid life,” she said.
She said most public pools will not allow mermaid tails because of liability concerns, despite her certifications, rescue training and liability insurance.
Private gigs, such as birthday parties and backyard pool appearances, exist, but are inconsistent.
“I know that I’m probably going to be really limited,” Cunningham said.
Still, she hopes this is not the end of Sirena.
“In some ways, I feel like Santa Claus,” she said. “They come and hug on me, and they want to tell me mermaid secrets.”
Sunday will also be Cunningham’s final performance at Blue Zoo. The aquarium said admission for its final day will be free while capacity allows.
Blue Zoo Aquarium opened at Jordan Creek Town Center in 2024 as an interactive family attraction featuring sharks, stingrays, reptiles and birds alongside mermaid shows and educational exhibits.
But the facility also faced controversy during its time in Des Moines.
The state previously investigated animal welfare concerns, including the death of a parakeet and an incident in which a guest was bitten by a bamboo shark.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the primary accreditation organization for zoos and aquariums in the United States, does not list Blue Zoo in West Des Moines as an accredited aquarium.
Blue Zoo said a substantial rent increase made it impossible to continue operating the Des Moines facility. Court documents show it is being evicted for failing to pay rent.
“Caring for animals at the level they deserve is both a huge responsibility and a significant investment,” the company wrote in the deleted statement on Facebook.
The aquarium later announced Memorial Day would be its final day operating and that admission would be free while capacity allows.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.