#aquariums

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[twiststreet]

The Weekly thread there is filled with deleted posts. (X)

[orcinus-veterinarius]

One misconception I see shared a lot by well-meaning zoo supporters is that all the animals in their favorite zoo or aquarium are rescues. This is often used as a put-down to “bad” zoos, who capture their animals from the wild or “force”them to breed.

The truth is more complex. There are certain species in zoos and aquaria of which nearly all the individuals you see are almost definitely rescues, such as sea otters, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. But for the majority of others, while there may be one or two non-releasable rescues in the collection, most individuals were indeed either born in human care or collected from the wild.

Nowadays, mammals, birds, and many herptiles in accredited facilities are essentially exclusively captive bred. For long-lived species, such as cetaceans and elephants, there are still some older wild-born individuals alive from wild capture days. They have spent their entire lives (40 or 50+ years) in human care and are not candidates for release.

For the vast majority of fish species (around 90%), including many sharks and rays, they are still collected from the wild, either by the zoo itself or a third party organization. Accredited facilities take care to ensure their fish are collected sustainably and will not negatively impact wild populations. In recent years, there have been great strides made in aquaculture (such as through the Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory at the University of Florida) and other captive breeding efforts. One cool example is the birth of Rip, a critically endangered sand tiger shark pup, at the AZA-accredited Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach.

[yourlocalavian]

ApoCherri at the aquarium :D

they had lots of fun, trust <3

[aquariumpacific]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAIN! 🎂🥳💙

Uh oh, we o-FISH-ally have a TEENAGER! Cain, the California sea lion, celebrated his 13th birthday today with a special cake made by Animal Care Specialists Danielle & Taylor.

[fish-gone-fishing-0258]

ccould you possibly do general fish or aquarium graphics ?

fffish my beloved ouuuughhh <3<3 fish autism is STRONG

just fish themed dividers is fine if this is too vague of a theme lol

requesting fish graphics from a guy named fish is very poetic I'll have to admit :]]]] btw what's your favorite fish if you don't mind me asking?? [just curious]

anyways here's the graphics!!

hope they're to your liking!!

[montereybayaquarium]

🦦 Name our newest resident sea otter!

We’re otterly excited to announce that, in the coming weeks, we’ll welcome a brand new resident sea otter to the Aquarium’s raft! 

Our newest otter was found stranded as a pup near San Luis Obispo, 100 miles south of Monterey. After being deemed unreleasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she’s spent the past year behind the scenes getting used to her new home at Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Our team is busy preparing for her to join Ruby, Ivy, and Selka on exhibit. But there’s just one thing missing—she still needs a name! 

Teaching a resident otter to recognize her own name is an important part of her training, so we narrowed it down to three unique choices:

💙Hazel 💙Opal 💙Quinn

Starting this Wednesday, March 26 at 12 p.m. PST, check out our socials for a link to the poll. You’ll have 24 hours to vote and help name our new exhibit otter.

We can’t wait for you to meet her!