Mermaid Sabie
03-24-2015, 01:22 AM
Hey mers!
I just had my first visit ever to the Vancouver Aquarium! I've gotta tell you, I was really impressed! They really seem focused on conservation, rehabilitation, and education which made me soooo happy! The whole place was kid friendly, well laid out, and they had really interesting tanks, a lot of them curve a bit around you so you almost feel like you're in the tank. SO cool.
The larger tanks had underground viewing windows so you could watch the dolphins/ porpoises, belugas swim (most liked to swim upside down I noticed ;))
I left with such a positive feeling! All the animals had large tanks and educated staff it really felt like the Ocean version of a Science World. I was really happy to hear that the Vancouver Aquarium does not capture wild whales and will only trade/buy animals that were born in captivity or captured before 1996. Or if they are rescued and deemed non-releasable. They are also a non-profit organization so all the money they make goes back to the animals and to research!
I also left feeling like a wikipedia of sea creatures lol I was surprised with how much a learned :)
Some new (for me) fun facts:
Belugas don't have a dorsal fin and have shorter smaller fins in general to conserve body heat for their arctic climate
Cuttlefish have 2 tentacles that come out of their mouth(?) to grab their prey! (Actually pretty freaky, here's a video link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SDHolEymcM
I learned about the sea star wasting disease which is killing the starfish on the west coast
We watched a 4D movie (they simulate wind, water splashes, movement) all about prehistoric sea creatures, it was very cool!
There have these 4 eyed fish that have two eyes to look under the water and two to see above water! I didn't even know those existed lol
There's a bunch more I learned that I just can't think of right now....
*Anyways if there's anything that I don't know about them that they are doing badly, feel free to burst my happy bubble. I'd rather be informed!*
I just had my first visit ever to the Vancouver Aquarium! I've gotta tell you, I was really impressed! They really seem focused on conservation, rehabilitation, and education which made me soooo happy! The whole place was kid friendly, well laid out, and they had really interesting tanks, a lot of them curve a bit around you so you almost feel like you're in the tank. SO cool.
The larger tanks had underground viewing windows so you could watch the dolphins/ porpoises, belugas swim (most liked to swim upside down I noticed ;))
I left with such a positive feeling! All the animals had large tanks and educated staff it really felt like the Ocean version of a Science World. I was really happy to hear that the Vancouver Aquarium does not capture wild whales and will only trade/buy animals that were born in captivity or captured before 1996. Or if they are rescued and deemed non-releasable. They are also a non-profit organization so all the money they make goes back to the animals and to research!
I also left feeling like a wikipedia of sea creatures lol I was surprised with how much a learned :)
Some new (for me) fun facts:
Belugas don't have a dorsal fin and have shorter smaller fins in general to conserve body heat for their arctic climate
Cuttlefish have 2 tentacles that come out of their mouth(?) to grab their prey! (Actually pretty freaky, here's a video link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SDHolEymcM
I learned about the sea star wasting disease which is killing the starfish on the west coast
We watched a 4D movie (they simulate wind, water splashes, movement) all about prehistoric sea creatures, it was very cool!
There have these 4 eyed fish that have two eyes to look under the water and two to see above water! I didn't even know those existed lol
There's a bunch more I learned that I just can't think of right now....
*Anyways if there's anything that I don't know about them that they are doing badly, feel free to burst my happy bubble. I'd rather be informed!*