June 25, 2009
The Aquarium has gone crazy with cuttlefish—we’ve currently got 44 juvenile pharaoh cuttlefish on exhibit in Splash Zone! Measuring about one and a half inches long, they hatched in February from eggs laid by a female previously on exhibit.
June 18, 2009
Dua, one of four Asian small-clawed otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has learned to play the piano as a behind-the-scenes "enrichment." Our husbandry staff created this activity to give Dua something interesting to do, extend his feeding time and make use of his incredible dexterity—a trait he shares with others of his species.
June 16, 2009
Each year from March through September, tiny snowy plover chicks appear on beaches along California’s coast, looking like balls of fluff with two stick legs. “We call them cotton balls on Q-tips,” says Monterey Bay Aviculturist Donielle York. “They’re adorable.” These small shorebirds are also in trouble.
June 09, 2009
While seahorses get star billing in our new special exhibition, “The Secret Lives of Seahorses,” they share the stage with many other animals—including everything from sea slugs to sea moths, firefish to zebra gobies. Here are some exhibit animals you're likely to see this summer.
Exhibit: The Secret Lives of Seahorses
June 04, 2009
Just when you think you’ve seen all the charismatic animals in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Kelp Forest exhibit, a lumbering giant catches your eye. It’s the giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), a fish that can reach 500 pounds but is so gentle it likes to have its chin scratched by divers.
May 19, 2009
When you’re part of the husbandry staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you never know what you’ll discover when you come to work in the morning. On May 14, Senior Aquarist Veronica Franklin found that the number of Asian vine snakes in the Wild About Otters exhibit had nearly doubled overnight.
%20Ed%20Bierman%20small.jpg "Navanax © Ed Bierman")
April 27, 2009
There’s a bit of a slugfest taking place in the new Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit, but it’s not what you think. The Pacific seahorses are sharing their exhibit with the enigmatic sea hare and the brightly colored navanax.
Exhibit: The Secret Lives of Seahorses
April 16, 2009
Birds in the Sandy Shore/Aviary exhibit of the Monterey Bay Aquarium are celebrating spring. The ruddy duck, red phalarope and other shorebirds are all showing their enthusiasm for the season with bright breeding plumage.
April 06, 2009
No sooner had Monterey Bay Aquarium aquarist Todd Love placed two spectacular Puget Sound king crabs on exhibit than it seemed they were multiplying. Or were they? In fact, the two crabs had molted, shedding their brilliant orange-and-red “exoskeletons” to grow new ones that provide growing room.
March 26, 2009
Recently, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's giant octopus exhibit has been looking a little like a preschool play session. Several days a week, aquarist Adam Frantz has been challenging the two, 11-pound octopuses with balls, jars with hidden treats inside, and plastic mazes. It’s all part of the Aquarium’s “enrichment program” for these inquisitive and intelligent animals.
March 18, 2009
Monterey Bay Aquarium member Tom Powers was enjoying a beautiful day of freediving off the coast of Ventura, California, when he came across “the largest lobster I’ve ever seen”—weighing an astounding 11 pounds. He wrestled the California spiny lobster out of its cave—losing a few inches of his Kevlar glove in the process—and took it home, intending to give it pride of place on his dinner table....
March 06, 2009
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is breaking records with animal healthcare. Two special shorebirds that have lived at the Aquarium since the mid 1980s are the oldest individuals of their species at any U.S. zoo or aquarium....
February 23, 2009
The white sturgeon, ponderous and primeval-looking, is one of the most popular animals in the Monterey Bay Habitats exhibit. And no wonder. Sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America....
February 05, 2009
Take a close look at the shark case on exhibit in the Enchanted Kelp Forest Touch Pool, and you'll see a wriggling swell shark inside its leathery case. While most sharks bear live young, the swell shark packages its offspring in tough cases and abandons them at sea. (Other egg-laying sharks include the horn shark and cat shark.) Nourished by a yolk, also contained in the egg case, the embryo may take up to a year to hatch, depending on water temperature.
+Charlene+BoartsSM.jpg "Working Moms: Giant Octopus and Cuttlefish Both Lay Eggs")
January 29, 2009
It may be the dead of winter, but for the Aquarium's giant octopus and cuttlefish, it feels a little like spring. Both laid eggs in January, which are plainly visible to Aquarium visitors.
November 20, 2008
Calling All Jellyfish Fans—Moon Jellies are Back
You can now see moon jellies—of Jellies: Living Art fame—in the Outer Bay exhibit. Some of these luminous jellies are so big and full, you’d think you’re looking at the moon in the sky, while others have bells no bigger than bottle caps. These mesmerizing orbs pulse through the water with energy and grace.
Did you know moon jellies once journeyed into space? In 1991, 2,500 juvenile moon jellies hitched a ride into orbit aboard the space shuttle Columbia, as part of a study on effects of weightlessness. Next time you visit, be sure to check out these moonlike space travelers.
November 06, 2008
The data tag fitted on the young white shark we released from the Outer Bay exhibit in early September popped free and has reported in ahead of schedule. Data recorded on the tag, which we recovered at the Channel Islands near Santa Barbara, shows that the shark remained near the Channel Islands and was doing well in the wild.
September 12, 2008
The young white shark returned to the wild on Sunday, Sept. 7 was caught and released in the Santa Barbara Channel early Thursday (Sept. 11) by a commercial fisherman working. From the description the fisherman gave us, she's in excellent condition and appears to have recently fed. Still, her being caught 4 days after being release is a reminder of the threats sharks face in the ocean.
September 07, 2008
The young white shark brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on August 27 was tagged and released on September 7. While she was swimming well in the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit, the shark fed only one time during her stay, and the Aquarium’s animal care staff decided it was best to return her to the ocean.
September 02, 2008
“Ziwa,” our newest African spotted-necked otter pup, was born behind-the-scenes in June and is now on exhibit. The 12-week-old female is the fourth freshwater otter pup born at the Aquarium. Her name is the Swahili word for “lake” or “pond,” the natural habitat of her species. Come see her at her new home in Wild About Otters next time you visit.
August 06, 2008
As Small as It Gets: Juvenile Lumpsuckers
Several juvenile Pacific spiny lumpsuckers that recently arrived from the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada are now on exhibit. At three months, the lumpsuckers are only about a third of an inch long or the size of a bean. However, they're complete with fins and the suction cups on their bellies this species is known for. Check out the mini-lumpsuckers hanging out on kelp fronds near the touch pool in the Enchanted Kelp Forest gallery.
July 17, 2008
Combine an eel with a sucker fish and throw in a little superhero spunk and you’ve got a leaping blenny. These small (maximum four inches long), blue-grey fish navigate the rocky intertidal zones of their Indo-Pacific habitats in two ways—swimming in the water and leaping between rocks. They can even breathe air when out of water. It’s rare to see these fish on exhibit in the Western World, so stop by and check them out the next time you visit the Splash Zone exhibit.
July 03, 2008
A Juvenile Wolf-eel on the Move
A juvenile wolf-eel was recently moved from Splash Zone to the Deep Reef gallery and is now happily hanging out in the left side of the wolf-eel exhibit. During the past year and a half, this little eel has grown from 4 inches in length to 24 inches and it’s still got some growing to do. An adult wolf-eel can measure 80 inches and weigh up to 41 pounds. Some divers claim that these fierce-faced fish can bite a broomstick in half, but in reality, wolf-eels are not dangerous unless provoked.
June 12, 2008
Now-Sept. 14 (Sun.)
The popular, award-winning special exhibition Jellies: Living Art is closing on September 14. During its six-year run, the exhibition has dazzled millions of visitors with a unique blend of stunning jellies and the artwork they inspired. Don’t miss this last chance to immerse yourself in the world of jellies.
May 22, 2008
Healthy and Growing—Our New Ocean Sunfish
The newest resident of the Outer Bay exhibit, an ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is settling in well. When it arrived at the Aquarium in January, it weighed only 55 pounds (25 kilograms), a lightweight for a species that can grow up to 5,000 pounds. It’s now estimated to weigh about 85 pounds (38 kilograms). Most afternoons you can see the sunfish basking on the surface of the exhibit, eating squids and white fish that our aquarists have prepared for it.
April 18, 2008
New Stars of Splash Zone: Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers
Lumpsuckers are tiny animals, often described as “ping-pong balls with fins.” A giant lumpsucker can be five inches long, but most are closer to one inch. They are slow, inefficient swimmers, but they’re very good at attaching themselves to solid objects like rocks or kelp, thanks to a suction cup-like disk on their bellies. Come see our quartet of these cool creatures in the Enchanted Kelp Forest gallery.
April 10, 2008
Common Murres in Splash Zone
With their white bellies and dark backs, common murres look a lot like penguins. They swim like penguins too—“flying” under water with their short wings. But these amazing birds aren’t even related to penguins! They're pelagic seabirds that spend most of the year at sea. They live in the northern hemisphere, including the Monterey Bay. The next time you visit, be sure to check out the murres in their new Splash Zone home.
March 17, 2008
Welcome back blackfooted penguins and other favorite animals, such as cuttlefish, clownfish, seahorses and sea dragons. Discover a place where families can explore the ocean together.
February 05, 2008
For the third time, we’ve said farewell to a young white shark after it spent a few months with us on exhibit. The male shark was released in Monterey Bay on February 5, 162 days after he was placed in our Outer Bay exhibit. He’s carrying tracking tags that will report back with detailed information about his travels.
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Do fish sleep?
It appears that whales and dolphins sleep half the brain at a time,
often leaving just one eye open during these quiescent periods. For
animals that hunt at night, these periods may occur during the daytime,
and they are more like short "catnaps" than extended periods of deep
sleep. Some baleen whales have been observed motionless on the surface
for minutes at a time, and are probably catnapping.
Many species of fishes keep moving day and night throughout their lives.
This includes all tunas and billfishes, and many species of sharks.
These fishes likely do not need deep sleep, and although they may slow
down for periods of time, they remain sufficiently conscious to navigate
and respond to stimuli when necessary.
Do whales sleep?
Whales (and their cousins dolphins and porpoises) do sleep or rest, but differently from the way we humans sleep. They appear to rest at the surface, with a slow, rhythmic bobbing action that is called "logging" (they may resemble a floating log in the water). Since whales and dolphins are conscious breathers (we humans breathe involuntarily-whales have to decide when to take each breath), they have to be awake to breathe.
Researchers have been able to record brain activity in captive dolphins and have noticed that when the animals rest, half their brain "sleeps" while the other half stays active. In this way they can still breathe and also stay alert for danger and quickly respond if necessary. So we think that whales and dolphins rest their muscles by floating at the surface and rest their brains one half at a time.
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