| Mystic Aquarium | |
|---|---|
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| 41°22′25″N 71°57′10″W / 41.37361°N 71.95278°W | |
| Date opened | October 6, 1973 |
| Location | Mystic, Connecticut, United States |
| No. of animals | 10,000 |
| Memberships | AZA,[1] AMMPA[2] |
| Website | www |
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Mystic Aquarium is a marine aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. It is one of only two U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions, and it has the only beluga whales in New England. Special exhibits include the largest outdoor beluga whale habitat in the United States, a ray and shark touch pool, an African penguin exhibit, a jelly gallery, and the new Dino Seas: An Immersive Journey exhibit. The aquarium is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). It is a subsidiary of the Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
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Transcription
Coming up next on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World--Belugas! Hi I’m Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world! Trivia question: what’s 2,000 pounds, bright white and lives in Connecticut? Give up? Yes, I’m talking about the Beluga whale, and while normally one would need to go all the way up to the arctic to see one, today I’m going to be hanging out with some Belugas at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. The Mystic aquarium is known for a variety of beautiful underwater exhibits including their sharks and rays, coral, fish, invertebrates and even moray eels. The barracuda exhibit is really cool, but in my opinion the best one is yet to come. The Beluga whale exhibit is outdoors. This impressive lagoon really feels like its out in the wild. It makes visitors almost feel like they are in the water with the whales! Today, I’m joining the staff of Beluga trainers to learn what’s involved in the care of the four Beluga whales that live here. That’s a lot of fish. I get the feeling this is going to take a while! My day starts with food prep. Why do segments like this always start with raw fish? I meet Kate McElroy, one of the Beluga Trainers who is going to show me how they prepare the daily meals for the whales. It starts with herring and squid. KATE: Alright, are you ready to start carrying some fish in? It all starts with herring and squid. JONATHAN: Herring, coming up! A frozen block of cephalopods. That’s actually kind of gross. Look at his little flat eyeball. KATE: You can put that one right up here for me and I’m going to need four feeds for the day so this looks kind of complicated here but really all it is is: each bucket that I weigh out for Juno is going to have 6.3 kilos in it. And for Kela, 2.6, Naku 5.3, Naluark 6.4. JONATHAN: I can do this! After the fish have been washed and inspected to be sure they are free of any possible contamination, I weigh out a bucket of fish that will be breakfast for a beluga named Juno. I feel like I’m on Dirty Jobs… KATE: It is kind of a dirty job isn’t it? Weighing out the food for all four whales takes about half an hour. Like that’s too much, already. …That’s so wrong. Once we finish the messy job of weighing out the fish, we can rinse off our gloves and head out to the exhibit for the next morning task. Outside, the staff is already cleaning the exhibit, and I’m going to help. My first order of business is cleaning the big windows to get all the handprints and dirt off so people can see the Belugas clearly. Or maybe so they can see us clearly, I’m not actually sure! JONATHAN: I hope you appreciate this. I’m doing this all for you buddy! As I work, Juno keeps an eye on me. And I can’t help but think maybe he’s not impressed. JONATHAN: Okay, I’m slow at the squeegee but you have got to admit, that is clean! Right? Hey what do you think you’re doing over there? What the heck are you doing now? KATE: So we’re going to move on to the next window, we still have to get a lot more cleaned. JONATHAN: Oh you want me to actually work? Big windows mean lots of cleaning. And for some reason I feel like I’m being watched. It’s hard to keep my eyes on my work! The whales are incredibly captivating! Next it’s time to scrub the inside of the exhibit to remove the algae that grows on the bottom. The trick however is keeping the whales from grabbing the brush and yanking it away from me! Anything that goes into the water becomes something interesting to investigate and possibly play with. For the whales’ safety, it’s important that I keep them from getting ahold of any of the tools. KATE: Now, there’s Juno. So that’s who we want to pull the pole out if we see. JONATHAN: What are you doing? Oh, dude! KATE: He sensed that you were new I think. Next I join trainer Lindsay Nelson who is preparing to take a weekly blood sample from Nakoo. This is just a tad more complicated than getting a blood sample from a human. Using a hand signal as a cue, Lindsay instructs Nakoo to turn around and place her tail up on dry land! LINDSAY: And then I’m going to pull her tail up onto the beach, on this towel here. This takes a lot of trust between trainer and Beluga because Nakoo is extremely vulnerable in this position, completely unable to swim. LINDSAY: Right into her vein there. And as you can see the blood is coming up… These blood tests are conducted regularly both for research, and also to insure the health of the animals. LINDSAY: After she’s done, I’m going to blow my whistle and give her a double tap on her tail, and that tells her she did a great job. Then she knows when she comes back she’ll get that fish reinforcement. LINDSAY: And then she knows, she’s coming back for a big fish reward! ENRICHMENT Later in the day, the trainers provide what is called enrichment. You see, belugas are smart, and they get bored. To keep them happy, they need to be mentally stimulated. LINDSAY: We can also do audio enrichment, so she has a tambourine, you have a tambourine, and then I also have a drum. So different noises for them to hear. So the idea behind enrichment is basically is to do weird and wacky stuff to entertain the whales. JONATHAN: Alright Juno, here we go, ready? <Jonathan sings goofy song> With my enrichment hat in place, I put a pole cam in the water to shoot some underwater video. Since divers aren’t allowed in the water with the Belugas, this is my only opportunity for some fish-eye views of the whales. The most important part of course is to make sure that none of the whales grab my camera! Although I’m not allowed to go diving, I can go in the water—in a pair of hip waders like a fisherman! KATE: Do you have questions before we get in? JONATHAN: No, lets go! This is my element baby! Kate takes me into the shallow part of the exhibit where I will learn a few hand signals. The whales know about 100 hand signals. They have been trained to do everything from a raspberry to a breach. The reward? A fish of course. I learn a little bit about Nakoo’s anatomy. She uses her melon, the rounded top of her head, to direct the sound waves for her echolocation system. This is how Belugas find food in the wild. Of course, in the wild she would live in the arctic around sea ice, which is why Belugas are bright white. And if there’s one thing to remember—never splash a Beluga! They have excellent aim. But I did get a kiss, and it only cost a fish. So I spent a day learning a little bit about Beluga whales. They are curious, clever and full of personality. They are the only whales that can bend their necks to look around without moving their whole body. These are amazing animals, and I feel like I have made some new friends!
History
Mystic Aquarium was first opened in 1973 as a privately owned corporation. Industrialist and philanthropist Kelvin Smith was the primary shareholder; he chose Mystic, Connecticut as the site because of the area's scenic shoreline and rich maritime history. In 1999, the aquarium and Ballard's Institute for Exploration combined to form a $52 million expansion. The expansion features the Arctic Coast, a 1-acre (4,000 m2) outdoor beluga whale display containing 760,000-US-gallon (2,900,000 L) of water.
The aquarium hosted several marine mammals from the Shedd Aquarium while it was undergoing renovation to its marine mammal habitat between September 2008 and May 2009. The National Geographic Society's Crittercam exhibit was set up at the aquarium in February 2011 but has since been removed.
In 2012, Mystic Aquarium opened the Ocean Exploration Center featuring maps, diagrams, and models from Dr. Robert Ballard's explorations of the Black Sea and of the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Presentations in the Nautilus Live Theater told more of Ballard's recent explorations and the ship E/V Nautilus. Audience members had a live link to crew members on the ship at sea and could ask them questions directly. The aquarium opened Titanic – 12,450 Feet Below on April 12, 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The exhibit was created by Ballard, who found the Titanic in 1985, and Tim Delaney, a former Walt Disney Imagineer. It was funded by a $1 million donation from United Technologies Corporation.[3] After being open to the public for over three and a half years the exhibit came to a close in January 2015.[4]
The aquarium was presented with the National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2014.[5] The award was accepted by Sea Research Foundation's president Stephen M. Coan.[6] The Titanic exhibit has since been remodeled into multiple exhibits, including Exploration: Wild, Jurassic Giants, and the current exhibit, Dino Seas: An Immersive Journey.
Animals
Mystic Aquarium holds six beluga whales (Juno, Natasha, Kela and three more), four Steller sea lions, six northern fur seals (two adult and four pups), six California sea lions, one Pacific and seven Atlantic harbor seals, two Arctic spotted seals, a large colony of 31 African penguins, unicorn fish, blue tang, octopus, Japanese spider crabs, sand tiger sharks, bamboo sharks, sea turtle, clownfish, an extensive sea jelly exhibit, seasonal birds, and other oceanic creatures. It is among the first aquariums to attempt artificial insemination of a beluga whale as part of its conservation work, in order to increase breeding in human care.[7]
Within the aquarium, encounter programs are offered to visitors for an additional fee, who can get close to the African penguins, touch and stand in the water with beluga whales, touch bamboo sharks, and feed and touch sting rays in a special pool.[8]
Beluga whale deaths controversy
Two beluga whales died in the aquarium within a year.[9] The aquarium imported five individuals of the species from Marineland in Canada in May 2021 despite outcries from animal rights groups and a lawsuit. A few months later, in August 2021, five-year-old Havok died while being treated for gastrointestinal issues. After Havok’s death, the US Department of Agriculture conducted a focused inspection of the aquarium and found three critical violations involving Havok’s veterinary care, his handling, and the facilities. The report found that the aquarium failed to provide adequate veterinary care in the last eight hours of Havok’s life.[10]
Six-year-old Havana died in February 2022. An examination later showed numerous significant lesions indicating storage disease in the whale’s brain and spinal cord and acute cardiac failure.[11]
Mystic Aquarium noted a common factor in the locations from which the deceased whales originated. They stated that their research team in Canada was collaborating with a contracted veterinarian to assist Marineland, the facility of origin, in closely examining the beluga whale population there.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
- ^ "Our Members". ammpa.org. AMMPA. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
- ^ "Tim Delaney, Creative Director on EPCOT'S Living Seas, Explores Titanic in New Exhibit". InPark Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Titanic Exhibit's Journey Ends Today at Mystic Aquarium". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Sawyer, Jesse. "Michelle Obama Praises Mystic Aquarium at White House". NBC Connecticut.
- ^ "Mystic Aquarium receives National Medal from White House". Hartford Business, May 9, 2014.
- ^ "Artificial insemination of beluga whales - Mystic Aquarium". ns104255196161.a2dns.com. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Encounter Program Frequently Asked Questions - Mystic Aquarium". ns104255196161.a2dns.com. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Second beluga whale dies at Mystic Aquarium in less than a year following whale transfer from Canada". 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Investigation into Whale's Death Finds Issues at Mystic Aquarium".
- ^ "Mystic Aquarium's second beluga whale death prompts call for investigation". June 2022.
External links
This page was last edited on 8 April 2024, at 01:03