Under the Sea

Aquarium volunteer who spends a lot of time with the world's greatest marine animals

[s-m0key]

Hawksbill Turtle. Maldives Indian Ocean coral reef. By - Andrey Armyagov

[bigcatawareness]

i don't really understand why you would be pro-zoo. like i understand nature reserves and sanctuaries where people can observe from afar, but it doesn't seem right to me when they're locked up in generally small confined areas for people to watch them do nothing all day. idk maybe i'm getting this wrong, and i still really respect you, i just don't understand this. like i interned at a zoo and felt uncomfortable with how small their living areas were and how they had no stimulation

Zoos don’t look like this anymore.

They look like this:

Good zoos do not keep their animals in “tiny spaces” with no enrichment.  I’m not pro-roadside zoo.  I’m pro-accredited zoo.  Zoos are incredibly important for conservation and education.

Are Zoos Necessary?

The Importance of Zoos: Resource Post

Why Zoos and Aquariums Matter: Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium

Why I Want to be a Keeper

Why I Believe in Zoos

[useless-zoofacts]

There should be way more pictures of modern zoos so i just add some more

[merp-a-derp69-deactivated201808]

Seriously zoos do so much important conservation work as well I hate when people shit all over zoos as if the animals are locked up and not looked after

[nyxetoile]

The SF Zoo has two sea lions. Now, if you know SF, you know that sea lions are a Thing. They’re all over Pier 39 and various other beaches in N California. In fact, the zoo is near the ocean, so there are sea lions not 200 yards from the zoo entrance. So having sea lions in the zoo seems sort of superfluous.

Except the sea lions are blind. One was found as an adult after suffering a gun shot wound to the face that destroyed his eyes. The other was found as an adolescent, weak and starving because it had been blinded and unable to hunt. So they were rescued and introduced and the zoo built them a nice pool where they can swim and sunbathe and people toss them fish. It’s not the biggest exhibit, or the fanciest. But it’s a home for them, where they’re safe and well fed. Sea lions aren’t the most romantic of animals, but they’re a part of SF culture and a lot of us have a soft spot for the loud, bulbous things. And because of zoos, these two get to live long, happy lives.

Whenever anyone complains about zoos, I think about Silent Knight and Henry. 

[zoogeek327]

I think it’s St. Louis zoo that is saving big cats in Africa. Scientists couldn’t figure out what was killing off the local lion population. They were dying off from Canine Distemper. The local unvaccinated dogs of the towns would spread the disease to other animals or have it themselves. When the lions ate the infected animals they would catch it as well. You know what that Zoo is doing to stop this disease? They are going over to those towns and vaccinating the dogs for free. The community loves it and people from other villages comes for miles to get their dogs vaccinated as well.

They also do work with camel populations because the local human population use the camels for food sources the zoos help monitor the camels health.

Another zoo, I want to say it’s the Oregon zoo but don’t quote me on that, is helping female inmates. The zoo works with the female prisons by encouraging the inmates to assist in the breeding and raising of endangered species of butterflies. They plant the specific plants that the butterflies and catapillars need, raise them, and release them. These inmates get noted in any scientific journals that get published. They are giving these inmates a sense of accomplishment and validation.

Zoos not only save species but bring together and assist communities in an effort to save the environment. Zoos, good zoos, are essential to the future and I will fight anyone who tries to say otherwise.

PS you don’t see PETA doing any of this.

[averagewhiteshark]

Yep, that’s the Oregon Zoo! They also participate in local conservation projects such as the recovery of the California condor through captive breeding and wild release, and hand rearing and releasing of western pond turtles, both of which are threatened species in the wild.

[nubbsgalore]

(x, x, x, x)

[thelovelyseas]

A mothers love by Karim Iliya

[dsxsbx]

[the-cetacean]

Dolphins: Spy in the Pod

[zookeeperproblems]

When you say “Look at my cute baby!!”

Expectations:

Reality:

[o-k-e-a-n-o-s]

[cetanerd]

@nineteentwentyseven

[neaq]

View this post on Instagram

Baby steps: These newborn epaulette sharks are using their fins to get around their exhibit, just like the adults.

#Visitorpicture by @sharkmamalisey #regram #sharks #scienceofsharks #epaulettesharks #Hemiscylliumocellatum #cutebabyanimals #newenglandaquarium #boston #massachusetts (at New England Aquarium)

[dsxsbx]

Untitled by Ben Hicks

[m86-deactivated20171116]

noise

[lsleofskye]

[sdzoo]

Penguins + Bubbles = Pure Joy

[gentlesharks]

Rather than swim, Epaulette sharks often “walk” by using their pectoral fins as a pair of rudimentary legs. 

[nilssonoscar]

Just a baby seal My Tumblr | My Instagram

[pedromgabriel]

- A dream within a dream -

by Pedro Gabriel

[shipshapeseal]

Looks Can Be Deceiving

There are several news articles going around citing a study which found that free-ranging bottlenose dolphins are essentially sicker than those in human care. I’ve linked the primary source below. This comes as no surprise to me or anyone else in the zoological field, but it’s interesting to see formal peer-reviewed research on the subject. It’s also very upsetting. The wild bottlenose dolphins are suffering from high levels of mercury and other industrial pollution. They are accumulating toxins in their tissues via biomagnification (they eat the prey that ate the prey that ate the original man-made pollutant). This has weakened their immune systems and made it more difficult for them to fight off various pathogens. Our Atlantic coastlines may appear clean and beautiful compared to other parts of the world, but looks can be deceiving. 

The environment as a driver of immune and endocrine responses in dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)