38th in an occasional series

He's taking new risks

He's taking them twice

He's ditched the reindeer

And he's chancing his life.

Santa Claus is swimming

with sharks.

When he's not scuba diving

He's off into space

But his elves are still needed

To make sure Santa's safe.

Santa Russ rockets up 520 feet. It's but a quick ride to the top deck of the Space Needle.

And Santa Bill descends into the quarter-million gallons of the South Pacific aquarium at the Point Defiance Zoo, where six species of sharks are curious about the first-time jolly visitor.

Both have elves to watch their backs.

Santa Russ says, "They're my Secret Service. They're crowd control and to take a hit for Santa."

Santa Bill has an elf with a plastic prod just in case a 6-foot shark gets too curious.

Luckily for Santa Bill, the sharks are well fed on tuna, salmon, mackerel and shark vitamins.

For both, the mission is the same: to bring people in for holiday cheer.

"He's ultimate love," says Santa Russ, giving a hug but making no promises when it comes to gifts.

Alan Berner: 206-464-8133 or aberner@seattletimes.com