Mystic Aquarium Mystic Aquarium News

ThylacineAlive said:
I like how they just say "seal" when the aquarium exhibits five pinniped species, three of which are called seals :p Obviously it's a Harbor Seal, though.

~Thylo
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I was unaware that they exhibited that many pinniped species. Most zoos and aquariums I'm aware of stick to 2 or 3 species.
 
NVP said:
I was unaware that they exhibited that many pinniped species. Most zoos and aquariums I'm aware of stick to 2 or 3 species.
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They currently keep Steller's Sea Lion, California Sea Lion, Northern Fur Seal, Harbor Seal, and a single Spotted Seal. They may still have a single Pacific ssp Harbor Seal along with the West Atlantic as well. They also occasionally house rehab Grey Seal and Harp Seal that can be viewed.

~Thylo
 
Currently listening to an episode of the Zoo Logic podcast that came out yesterday. The guest is Dr. Tracy Romano from Mystic Aquarium, and its about the the reasons the proposed move is being pursued.

Zoo Logic: Mystical Belugas

*One thing that surprised me, at 38:50, she says that there are no plans to breed the incoming belugas
 
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Hyak_II said:
Just because there are no plans to breed doesn't mean it won't happen, just means they won't specifically try to breed, but if it happens anyway, it's just a bonus.
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If breeding happens incidentally, then those whales better not be closely related, because the last thing thing the aquarium needs is inbreeding.
 
I have no insight into this, but I would imagine to intention to not breed the whales is going to be integral to the import getting approved. It suggests that the purpose really is just for research, and not to further establish captive populations. We may still get accidental or "accidental" breeding after a while.

But to be clear, I have inside information and this is just speculation. For all I know, the aquarium really doesn't want to breed their Belugas.

~Thylo
 
Visited the aquarium today for the first time in a long time and had a very pleasant visit. The aquarium seems to be making a real effort to exhibit more odd herp species where applicable. In the Amazon exhibit I noticed Wiegmann's Striped Gecko and Entre Rios Tarantula, Grammostola iheringi (not a herp but still a cool addition), and in the special exhibitions building they currently have Timor Python, Amazon Tree Boa, and somewhere between a dozen to two dozen amphibian species, including some rarer species like Anderson's Crocodile Newt, Three-Striped Poison Dart Frog, Bird Poop Bug-Eyed Frog, and a few native frogs.

Additionally, I am excited to announce that the aquarium has also received a second female Spotted Seal from the Alaskan SeaLife Center! Her name is Nuna and she is under a year old, making her significantly smaller than Siku, the aquarium's original Spotted Seal. In other pinniped news, a Harbor Seal was born at the aquarium earlier this year and the four Steller's Sea Lions are all getting huge! In all honestly I'm not sure if their current enclosure is even suitable for them anymore, especially if they hope to ever breed them. The male in particular is at a size where the Beluga enclosure is more suitable for him!

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Visited the aquarium today for the first time in a long time and had a very pleasant visit. The aquarium seems to be making a real effort to exhibit more odd herp species where applicable. In the Amazon exhibit I noticed Wiegmann's Striped Gecko and Entre Rios Tarantula, Grammostola iheringi (not a herp but still a cool addition), and in the special exhibitions building they currently have Timor Python, Amazon Tree Boa, and somewhere between a dozen to two dozen amphibian species, including some rarer species like Anderson's Crocodile Newt, Three-Striped Poison Dart Frog, Bird Poop Bug-Eyed Frog, and a few native frogs.

Additionally, I am excited to announce that the aquarium has also received a second female Spotted Seal from the Alaskan SeaLife Center! Her name is Nuna and she is under a year old, making her significantly smaller than Siku, the aquarium's original Spotted Seal. In other pinniped news, a Harbor Seal was born at the aquarium earlier this year and the four Steller's Sea Lions are all getting huge! In all honestly I'm not sure if their current enclosure is even suitable for them anymore, especially if they hope to ever breed them. The male in particular is at a size where the Beluga enclosure is more suitable for him!

~Thylo
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Does Mystic Aquarium still have Steller's Sea Lion, California Sea Lion, Northern Fur Seal, Harbor Seal, and Spotted Seal to make it 5 pinniped species? Vancouver Aquarium has the first 4 species, plus a couple of walruses (for now) and so both facilities currently have 5 pinniped species.

I really enjoyed my visit to Mystic Aquarium back in 2012 and it was a shoo-in for the Top 100 American zoo book. The outdoor area is really quite spectacular and memorable. Thanks for the updates.
 
snowleopard said:
Does Mystic Aquarium still have Steller's Sea Lion, California Sea Lion, Northern Fur Seal, Harbor Seal, and Spotted Seal to make it 5 pinniped species? Vancouver Aquarium has the first 4 species, plus a couple of walruses (for now) and so both facilities currently have 5 pinniped species.

I really enjoyed my visit to Mystic Aquarium back in 2012 and it was a shoo-in for the Top 100 American zoo book. The outdoor area is really quite spectacular and memorable. Thanks for the updates.
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They do indeed. Back in 2017 they still had a single Pacific ssp Harbor Seal along with their several West Atlantic to make for 6 total taxa, although I need to email the aquarium to find out if they still keep that animal. I saw some of your 2012 photos earlier tonight and I believe you said they only had 1.1 Steller's Sea Lion back then; now they're on 1.4! I remember visiting the aquarium for the first time back in 2011 and I thought it was great. Since then they've changed the main gallery up a bit in order to add even more species (plenty of which are quite odd and seemingly rare in aquariums) and the newish amphibian exhibit makes for a fantastic addition.

~Thylo
 
BigNate said:
she says that there are no plans to breed the incoming belugas
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Given Marineland's reputation for terrible living conditions and doing anything to make a buck, I bet the belugas are only being sold because they can't or haven't had breeding success at Marineland. Or because the park has been so inundated with violations related to their care that part of some agreement was to reduce their population. There is no other animal institution I know of that I find so suspect and ill-intentioned. Mystic couldn't possibly get more complaints or activists than Marineland. Just type in "Marineland" and "care," and you could be reading/viewing for days.

Does anyone know how many sea animals they have left? With the loss of three walrus, no more orcas after Sitka passes, and now this, I wonder if the owner is winding things down to sell this ultra-valuable land to highrise hotels that would have a very close view of the Horseshoe Falls? Of course, he would have to make the 100s of bears and fallow deer disappear first....
 
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Hyak_II said:
They won't have much luck with any Stellar's breeding, considering their male is castrated.
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There's something so very final about this word lol. Much more than "sterile" that the studbooks use, this word is just a discussion-ender. No further comment needed or even possible. I'm not even male, and the word makes me a bit queasy.
 
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