After two extremely hot days in Oregon (35 Celsius/95 Fahrenheit), it was cool and misty on the California coast. I wore a light jacket at both stops today (Monterey Bay Aquarium and Monterey Zoo) and this ended up being the one and only cooler day of the summer trip. So far!
One slightly shocking aspect of my journey down through California is the sheer volume of homeless people that I've seen. I'm staying in low-budget motels and so the surrounding areas are always a bit on the sketchy side, but on the way to Monterey Bay there was a big homeless camp right on the beach and that was never there before. Also, the next day when I went to Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Roeding Park had a large homeless population. There were moms pulling up on a Friday morning, unloading their strollers and toddlers, and dodging homeless guys asking for spare change. I'm not sure what the zoo can do about that, but it's a little sad to see folks down on their luck in such big numbers.
Part One will be a review of Monterey Bay Aquarium, with Part Two a review of Monterey Zoo.
DAY 3: Thursday, July 6th
Zoo/Aquarium #4: Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey Bay, California)
This was my
4th visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium (2006, 2008, 2011, 2023)
Here is one of the world’s great aquariums. Its setting in Monterey Bay, inside an old cannery factory, on 3.3 acres/1.3 hectares, is immensely appealing. Various pinnipeds and cetaceans can sometimes be seen from the outside decks of the sprawling campus, and pre-Covid the aquarium regularly received around two million annual visitors. Opening in 1984, the same year that a Great White Shark was temporarily put on display, Monterey Bay sets the standard in many ways. From the classy exhibits that have stood the test of time to the SeaFood Watch program to the various conservation initiatives, this is one of the greats. It’s not perfect, as nothing ever achieves perfection in life, and I have always preferred
Shedd Aquarium as my #1 favourite aquatic facility, but Monterey Bay perhaps edges ahead of Georgia and Tennessee for that second slot in my personal rankings.
Monterey Bay and Shedd are both visually striking aquariums, whether it is the part-Greek, part Beaux Arts style at Shedd, or the location of Monterey Bay inside an actual fish factory/cannery.
The term
Open Sea is appropriate when discussing the 1.2-million-gallon tank that opened in 1996 and dominates one wing of the facility. The first three occasions that I visited the aquarium I found the Open Sea tank to be astonishing. This time around, it was tainted a bit by my trips to 120 European zoos in 2019 and 2022. Suddenly, I could see a few flaws. Currently, I don’t think that Monterey Bay has any sea turtles in the big tank (unless one was off-show), only a single Hammerhead Shark, no Ocean Sunfish, and only a couple of large rays. There’s still Yellowfin Tuna, several other big species and 15,000 schooling fish, but the ‘wow factor’ is gone. Also, the presentation of the tank doesn’t work as well due to the crush of the crowds. Early in the morning it was just about bearable to stand and watch the fish swim in their tank, but when I came back later for the ‘feeding session’ the crowds were immense.
The ZooChat gallery only has a handful of photos showcasing the Open Sea tank, due to the dark lighting conditions and crammed visitor space:
@SwampDonkey
At Nordsoen Oceanarium in northern Denmark, there’s also a million-gallon tank that has 15 different viewing angles, tiered seating and with far more visitor space. There is time to relax, breathe and appreciate the exhibit. The stadium-style seating is wonderful there, along with the shipwreck in the center of the tank. The Blue Planet Aquarium, also in Denmark, has its own mega-tank that is around a million gallons and the species on display and visitor space is superior to what Monterey Bay has to offer. The California tank is still a real highlight, but it’s like the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. At one point it was the largest shopping center on the planet, then it was 2nd in North America (behind one in Minnesota) and now is still hanging on in the top 20 in the world. Monterey Bay’s big ocean tank used to be the largest of its kind in 1996, then it was 2nd in North America (after Ocean Voyager) and now is still hanging on in the top 20 in the world after a bunch in Europe and quite a few in Asia. 'Open Sea' is very good, but the species lineup is lacking, and the visitor space cannot even compare to Nordsoen, Blue Planet or even Hagenbeck (Germany) and Burgers’ Zoo (Netherlands). Also, during the feeding presentation, the employee said that the most common question and criticism of the exhibit is the lack of any boulders, stones, a shipwreck, or something at the bottom of the tank as a focal point. Other aquariums have found that having something there creates an entirely new ecosystem and is a huge benefit to the overall health of the animals, but Monterey Bay is going for authenticity instead. Kudos to them, but if the tank ever gets renovated again then I bet that they add something to the bottom of the exhibit.
Even with far too little visitor space, no numerous big sharks or turtles, and no tiered seating or actually ZERO seating to be found anywhere, it’s still a hugely impressive technological achievement. It's just slightly diminished for me after experiencing some other great tanks. The rest of the Open Sea part of the aquarium contains approximately
15 tanks of varying sizes, with many types of jellyfish and a brilliant overhead display of schooling Pacific Sardines.
Open Sea (smaller, bottom-view window):
Pacific Sardine schooling exhibit:
Into the Deep is apparently going to be sticking around for at least a half-dozen more years and it’s the aquarium’s temporary special exhibition. This extremely dark set of hallways contains
21 tanks with live animals, and several are extreme rarities that have never been showcased by the aquarium before. What is a bit disconcerting is that there are at least a further 21 video screens, often mimicking display tanks and so visitors will congregate around a portal in the wall only to realize that it was a changing screen much like a television commercial. This gallery was not quite as I anticipated, with many tiny creatures or various corals, but there is a lot of informative material if you can handle the numerous screens in all directions. It’s supposedly not a patch on Japan’s Aquamarine Fukushima, with its 50+ deep sea tanks, but still impressive from a North American perspective. One real highlight are seeing the Giant Isopods, as there's a half-dozen of them in one tank and then another 3 or 4 in a side tank that's open-topped. A volunteer was letting visitors stick their hands in and 'pet' the weird creatures and obviously who can resist doing that? They are slightly softer than I imagined and the water was incredibly icy.
Into the Deep skeleton tank:
Giant Isopod tank:
One large section of the aquarium that has held up remarkably well over the years is most of the wing on the left-hand side of the aquarium's map.
Kelp Forest is 28 feet of vertical magnificence, with its swaying kelp fronds magically transporting visitors into the realm of Leopard Sharks and other local species.
The Ocean’s Edge is outstanding, with a diverse range of exhibits with gallery titles such as Deep Reef, Sandy Seafloor, Shale Reef, Wharf, Rocky Shore, Coastal Wetland and Sandy Shore. Those 7 biomes feature a lovely mix of large and small tanks that amazingly all represent Monterey Bay. The massive Kelp Forest tank is 343,000 gallons (1.3 million liters) and the adjacent large Monterey Bay Habitats tank is 312,000 gallons (1.2 million liters) and equally spectacular. This whole loop, including an incredible walk-through Aviary, a crashing wave tank, several huge Bat Ray touch pools, encompasses approximately
40 exhibits and in many ways is the highlight of the entire aquarium. Nearby is the ‘Splash Zone’, with its Coral Reef Kingdom area (approximately 16 tanks) and Enchanted Kelp Forest area with a half-dozen tanks.
Kelp Forest tank:
Kelp Forest hallway:
Ocean's Edge entrance:
Walk-through aviary and touch tanks:
The middle section of the aquarium has the single most popular exhibit of all and that is for the Sea Otters. On all 4 of my trips to the aquarium, I have hardly been able to see the otters as the crowds are thronged around the cylindrical tank all day. It makes me wonder if the aquarium would ever consider building an outdoor pen for non-releasable pinnipeds. The wild denizens might come over to see what was going on, but injured seals and sealions could live out their lives at a superb facility instead of at one of the many pinniped rescue establishments on the California coastline with their small, functional enclosures. A seal or sea lion outdoor exhibit adjacent to the Tide Pool would be crazy popular because right now it's almost impossible to view the Sea Otters because of the amount of people in the way.
There are also African Penguins here, somewhat bizarrely included as they are certainly not a local species, and this exhibit is the worst in the building. It’s a lot of rock-work with a tiny, shallow pool, but at least the aquarium is renovating it for its next major project. But why even have African Penguins at all? Oh right, they are superstar animals. The Seabird exhibit in the other wing (Tufted Puffins, Common Murres, Black Oystercatchers) is a little bit better, allowing the puffins to torpedo through the water.
African Penguin exhibit:
@SwampDonkey
Seabird exhibit:
Interestingly, Monterey Bay Aquarium has only a single mammal species on display (those otters), and the only herps I noticed were a couple of California Toads and a Red-legged Frog. I would love to see the aquarium gut the ‘Soaring with Seabirds’ kiddie zone (one of several) and instead add in a gallery of reptile/amphibian tanks. There should be a number of species found locally that would fit the thematic elements of the facility. That would be something I'd do if I was in charge of the joint.
Soaring with Seagulls play area:
Monterey Bay Aquarium benefits enormously from its grandiose setting. Located inside a beautiful yet rustic series of buildings adds to the appeal, as if one is stepping into history. The outdoor decks have some concrete ‘brutalist’ aspect that is also enticing for zoo nerds, as there is a sturdiness and reliability to the infrastructure. The views of wild animals is spectacular, the lineup to don snorkeling gear for the famous Tide Pool experience is lengthy, and eating one’s lunch outside is one of the great aquarium experiences. That a small town of 30,000 people contains an aquarium that receives two million annual visitors is remarkable.
This place consistently looks great:
Upper Level Bridge:
I then drove 30 minutes to Salinas to visit Monterey Zoo.
