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snowleopard

snowleopard

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Vancouver Aquarium has been closed for approximately 7 months, but now there has been some sign of the future. The ownership of the facility has been transferred from the Ocean Wise Conservation Association to the American company Herschend Enterprises. Herschend already runs two very good aquariums (Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey and Newport Aquarium in Kentucky) and so the future is now consolidated in terms of finances. An American company that owns some theme parks might be a little worrying for many Canadian zoo nerds, but I'm just happy that the Vancouver Aquarium will continue to exist.

Here's an informative article:

Vancouver Aquarium's Future Assured Under New Ownership
 
That is great news! I have been worried about the aquarium. I say whatever keeps it open and ensures the vital conservation and rescue work continues is a good thing. It would only be if they abandon all that the aquarium has stood for since opening that I would question the move. Hopefully they can forge ahead now with the amazing work their incredible staff have been doing with the financial backing necessary. Sometimes new blood and new ideas are necessary. Maybe they will include a more theme park atmosphere but if they can gear that right so that they can generate more revenue to keep the rescue and rehab programs running strong so be it. If the aquarium were allowed to just disappear so many wild animals would suffer and die terrible deaths.
 
Considering the alternatives this is great. The Adventure Aquarium is one of the best in the country, albeit a bit commercial. I hope they can balance that with the education and conservation/rehab programs.
 
Incredibly disappointed a for profit company is taking ownership, but happy that Vancouver can continue in Stanley Park. Here's hoping the commercialization and cheesiness is non-existent and they can continue to focus on conservation, research, and science messaging. I had the fortunate experience to visit Vancouver Aquarium in January 2020 before the global shutdown and I really enjoyed my time.
 
After being closed for almost a year, Vancouver Aquarium reopens to the public on Monday, August 16th. Yeah! I've already booked tickets for myself, my wife and our 4 kids for this Saturday morning, as there is a members-only weekend prior to the grand reopening.

Vancouver Aquarium to reopen to public on Monday after a year of closure | Venture

There is a new 'Marine Mammal Rescue Exhibit', which looks (judging from the single photo on the link below) like a previously off-show pool that temporarily held a couple of walruses a few years ago. It will house various pinniped species.

https://www.vanaqua.org/
 
Fantastic news for the aquarium. I wish it had been able to open for the whole summer just to help it regain its financial footing sooner but open is open. I might only have a few memories of being there but I would love to hear from someone as familiar with it as you Snowleopard on the changes and how you think things are shaping up under the new management. If anyone would notice the difference it would be you! Hope the weather is good for you and you and the family have a blast being back there!
 
I was at Vancouver Aquarium on Saturday, April 21st (exactly a week later as planned due to one of my kids fracturing his wrist and needing a hospital visit :eek:) and here are my thoughts on the facility. It was my family's first visit in 20 months and the aquarium opened this week after being closed for almost a full year.

- Being able to visit the aquarium was terrific and we had a great time. The crowds were not overwhelming, due to reduced numbers via Covid regulations, and we had a blast. The new 4D show proceeded like normal in a theater, but we were fine with that as we've been in a movie theater on a weekly basis all summer long. Octopus: Blue Planet II is the excellent 12-minute flick, with footage narrated by David Attenborough, and it is included with the price of admission. The restaurant was fully open and the food there, while very expensive at Vancouver prices, was delicious.

- The heavily advertised 'new' Marine Mammal Rescue Exhibit isn't new at all. In fact, it is the main pool that used to hold Killer Whales back in the day, then Pacific White-sided Dolphins, and now a solitary California Sea Lion and at least one Harbour Seal. The aquarium has put up a bunch of fresh signs and called it 'new', which is disappointing. It's been there forever!

- The last ever cetacean ('Helen' the Pacific White-sided Dolphin) left for an unnamed U.S. facility in April. Vancouver Aquarium is now finished with whales, dolphins and porpoises forever and it's the end of a long legacy with cetaceans. In the outdoor exhibits I saw one California Sea Lion, 1 Harbour Seal, 5 Steller's Sea Lions, 4 Northern Fur Seals, 5 Southern Sea Otters and 5 African Penguins. For all the talk of not having cetaceans in captivity, and for all of the protests and negative press, the aquarium's attendance has plummeted since the death of the last Beluga Whales in late 2016. That year saw the aquarium achieve a record-breaking 1.17 million visitors, and now with no cetaceans and a pandemic the attendance is nowhere near that total.

- The aquarium was not looking in tip-top shape. On one hand, I kept thinking to myself that the facility has been closed for almost a year and so there should have been plenty of time to correct signs, spruce up paint in some sections or fine-tune the aesthetics. On the flip side, the facility has been running a 'bare bones' staff with just enough workers to keep the place afloat and so perhaps there hasn't been the opportunity to make subtle changes. There has recently been a job fair with the intent of hiring 100 new employees and there were a lot of staff members wearing "in training" name tags on their shirts. My guess is that it's going to take the best part of another year to truly get things up and running smoothly.

- The big shark tank is down to a single Blacktip Reef Shark and the days of 4 of those species and even a Zebra Shark are gone. There is a single Yacare Caiman left. A big snake tank near the caiman exhibit is now gone. At least 3-4 large tanks in the main foyer are all gone. The Electric Eel is gone. The two Garden Eel species are gone. Mudskippers are gone. In the Amazon section there are 4 terrariums in a row with either zero signage whatsoever or the wrong signs. (Example: a sign for Knifefish on an exhibit with a Boa Constrictor!) There are probably a dozen tanks in the aquarium with either zero signage or old, outdated signs.

So...a mixed bag. My kids had a blast and it was 4 hours that were well spent. Watching 5 otters frolic in the water as they were fed by trainers was superb, plus the Giant Pacific Octopus was extremely active and a treat to watch. From a zoo nerd perspective, the aquarium needs to tweak a whole bunch of small things to move back up amongst the best aquatic zoological establishments in North America. There will probably be a surge in popularity as visitors are excited to see the aquarium open again, after it faced permanent closure, but the American company that now owns the facility is surely thinking of what new exhibit can be added to entice repeat customers. The big expansion of 2014 is a distant memory and a few rescued pinnipeds won't get the average British Columbia resident coming back on numerous occasions each year.
 
Thank you for the review Snowleopard but more importantly I hope your little one is ok. Broken bones are definitely not fun, especially over the summer. Hopefully he is already well on the way to mending and feeling better. Wish him the best for me.

Were there any precautions in the 4D theatre like spaced seating?

Wow super disappointing that their new exhibit is basically nothing new and sounds like it doesn't even have many animals. It's a large pool so surely they could house more animals. But maybe they are waiting on animals in need to become available. At least if you are going to call it new spruce it up a little.

That is sad the aquariums long history with cetaceans has come to an end. The aquarium always did its best to provide them with good homes. However it is a good thing that Helen is now somewhere where she can be with her own kind or at least other dolphins. Just a shame that if a cetacean is in need one day like little Chester the false killer whale was the only option left if immediate release is not an option will likely be to put it down. While captivity is not ideal it did give him an extra 3 years of life. Would it have been better if it was longer? Sure but that's three years of living he would have been denied today. Unfortunately nothing we can do about it. It is what it is. At least Helen is probably happy with her new family. Now the aquarium can refocus its efforts without being attacked constantly over keeping whales, dolphins or porpoises. It will likely take them awhile to find their footing and rebound but with new management hopefully that is possible.

With all of the aquariums troubles the last year it's not terribly surprising they couldn't do those little jobs. They were probably the Canadian facility on the shakiest ground when the pandemic started and its been a crippling blow. Oh wait there was Cherry Brook Zoo but I think it was already on deaths door and just wouldnt admit it. Anyway the fact the aquarium was saying things were so bad they may have to close and had to pull back to that absolute skeleton staff there likely wasnt the money to do anything. Every penny was needed for the animals. While the new ownership has taken over they probably haven't really been in charge all that long when you consider the issues of hammering out the deal and transferring things and all the legal aspects. They still need to find their footing there and assess how best to move forward before sinking any big money into anything. Hopefully the support the aquarium is now getting from the public since reopening will encourage the new bosses to open their wallets this winter and start doing those things.

Wonder if the empty exhibits are a sign of renos possibly coming or if its the difficulty of the pandemic. I mean first why bother to get new animals you might just have to try and place if forced to close? So I can see that being an element. But also getting animals across the border has been nearly impossible until the spring. You can want to replace a dead shark but if you cannot ship it up to Canada from say Texas because the border is closed then not a lot you can do but wait. The aquarium is a little unique in Canada. Its not like the other zoos have a large selection of fish to just ask them to share. There is some they can do but mostly the aquarium would be looking to Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto who cant necessarily supply them with everything needed and might not be willing knowing the aquarium is not in a stable position. Plus it also may have just made sense to not replace animals even if covid didnt exist so that there are less mouths to feed and tanks to maintain. Small cost saving measures but given the dire situation they were in each penny probably counted. Hopefully this trend will be reversed as things open back up.

I wish the aquarium nothing but the best as it forges ahead into a new and uncertain future. The aquarium does amazing work and hopefully those new owners realize the gem they have and seriously invest in it.

On a purely hypothetical note... I haven't been there in forever and the memories are super fuzzy but do you think there is the space around the old whale pool to potentially make it into a show stopping world class polar bear habitat? I mean if one is looking for a big ticket animal to build that new future on what better option do they really have then polar bears? Everyone loves them. The nearest place to see a polar bear in captivity is all the way in Winnipeg. It's been forever since polar bears were in Vancouver at the defunct zoo. That could create a lot of buzz and still be a big marine mammal. Polar bears can be good conservation stories as well and serve as a replacement in the story of global warming that the belugas once served. Do you think its possible for them to create a proper polar bear habitat?
 
Thanks @TZFan for your detailed response. My son is doing fine with his cast and you are correct that I think the Vancouver Aquarium will need time before sorting out what to do next. All of the incorrect signs (and total lack of signs) will hopefully be rectified in the near future.

I think that the chance of the aquarium opening up a brand-new Polar Bear complex is next to zero. Assiniboine Park Zoo has a world-class facility for Polar Bears, plus Calgary Zoo is adding the species back in 2023, but I think that in Vancouver there would be protests immediately. On top of that, the footprint of the aquarium is only 2 acres and Polar Bears would need an additional acre of space just for that one species. It will likely never happen and the only bear-related enclosure will be the old Polar Bear grotto that still exists a few meters from the aquarium.

With 4 pinniped species, sea otters and penguins, the outdoor pools are nice but are nothing spectacular. Walruses would be amazing to see in the largest pool, but there are hardly any in captivity. Beavers are boring in the daytime and housing puffins outdoors is a rarity, so I'm not sure what else Vancouver Aquarium could do to improve the pools. What is really needed is a large, indoor shark tunnel tank, which is common around the world and hugely popular, but it's never been done in Vancouver.
 
Ah see that's what's great you know more about the aquarium that I do. I doubted polar bears would be feasible given space. Too bad because it would be a great species for them and they already have what would be an incredible pool space. I also forgot how touchy people are in Vancouver when the aquarium tries to do things. Pity its not an option.

Walruses would definitely be a show stopper or if they could luck into orphaned elephant seals. I realize both would be nearly impossible to get though.

A big indoor shark tunnel is a great option. People love those walk through tunnels. It would be a big draw for sure.

Definitely will be interesting to see what develops there over the coming years.
 
snowleopard said:
I think that the chance of the aquarium opening up a brand-new Polar Bear complex is next to zero. Assiniboine Park Zoo has a world-class facility for Polar Bears, plus Calgary Zoo is adding the species back in 2023, but I think that in Vancouver there would be protests immediately. On top of that, the footprint of the aquarium is only 2 acres and Polar Bears would need an additional acre of space just for that one species. It will likely never happen and the only bear-related enclosure will be the old Polar Bear grotto that still exists a few meters from the aquarium.

With 4 pinniped species, sea otters and penguins, the outdoor pools are nice but are nothing spectacular. Walruses would be amazing to see in the largest pool, but there are hardly any in captivity.
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Back in 2001 when the park was preparing to move its last killer whale, Bjossa, to SeaWorld San Diego, polar bears and walruses were two of the species being considered as replacements for her former exhibit (along with a long list of other Arctic and West Coast wildlife, both themes being considered for the space). Already even in the planning process the Arctic concept was said to be highly unlikely and polar bears deemed too controversial. Even if that were different now, two decades on, exhibit standards have certainly changed a great deal in that time and as @snowleopard pointed out the existing space would likely be insufficient :)

There are around 150 walruses currently living in captivity but a huge problem with that species is sourcing. China drove prices for wild-caught pups up many times the standard cost with their marine park boom of recent years, and since exports of wild pups have temporarily ceased as of 2018 they've moved towards buying up long-term captive and captive-born animals, taking up those options from other facilities (except the mysteriously powerful acquisitor of rare and high demand species, Pairi Daiza :p) as well. Frustratingly, most facilities with single animals (of which there are many) seem determined to hold onto them for display on exhibit and in shows. There are currently 12 captive-born animals that could be considered "surplus" to their current herds (being related to most or all of their park's other walruses), whether it's feasible for Vancouver to acquire any I don't know

Canada's walrus population is currently in a transformative period where in the near future we'll be seeing their walruses either phased out or see renewed efforts towards preserving the species in Canadian holdings, so that's something to keep an eye on and interest in. It's definitely my personal bias but I wouldn't count them out entirely for Vancouver in the future! Then again, I wouldn't really count anything out. The possibilities are wide open, but it is fun to speculate :D
 
@csartie, your knowledge of walruses as always is amazing. Love when you show up with the facts on them. Always learn something new.

I know this is a little off topic but when you said the walruses were in a transformative period you got me intrigued. As it currently sits there are only 5 walruses in Canada, 2 at Marineland (mother and son) and 3 at Aquarium Du Quebec (father and his son and daughter from separate mothers, with the daughter being half Atlantic). I get the phase out concept. While the two could cooperate and swap males I am not sure either would. Marineland wont give up their money makers and the aquarium might be skeptical of the care they would get while there. Either they die out or go south. I am interested though to hear your take on renewed efforts. Would you be open to sharing your thoughts?
 
TZFan said:
@csartie, your knowledge of walruses as always is amazing. Love when you show up with the facts on them. Always learn something new.

I know this is a little off topic but when you said the walruses were in a transformative period you got me intrigued. As it currently sits there are only 5 walruses in Canada, 2 at Marineland (mother and son) and 3 at Aquarium Du Quebec (father and his son and daughter from separate mothers, with the daughter being half Atlantic). I get the phase out concept. While the two could cooperate and swap males I am not sure either would. Marineland wont give up their money makers and the aquarium might be skeptical of the care they would get while there. Either they die out or go south. I am interested though to hear your take on renewed efforts. Would you be open to sharing your thoughts?
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Oh gosh, thank you so much for the flattering words!! :oops: I'm not sure they're deserved but I'm grateful nonetheless! :D

To (briefly, since this is mostly off-topic) speculate, I would imagine that Canada moving forward with their walrus program would involve the creation of new holding facilities (Toronto and Vancouver being obvious but not exclusive options for this), trade and transfer of existing animals among exhibiting facilities (Marineland's 0.1 Smooshi and Quebec's 1.0 Boris are both unrelated proven animals with no available mates in their current situations...), and imports of new animals to create at least one additional breeding herd. I wouldn't be so quick to count Marineland out as potentially rehousing their walruses to another facility, particularly with how in-demand the species is, but I also have the terrible flaw of erring towards the benefit of the doubt. ;)

Edit: Boris is also trained for semen collection, so artificial insemination is another potential option, although that's never proven to be successfully utilized thus far.

Unfortunately I have no idea what degree of institutional commitment each of the Canadian facilities currently has to the species. They're certainly an exceedingly difficult one to maintain and create a self-sustaining population of, and difficult to acquire even though the numbers are there in terms of the total captive population held globally.
 
Lol you give the benefit of the doubt, while I tend to believe the worst. Perfect pairing.

I think Toronto and Vancouver would be happy to give it a go if they could get the animals. Assiniboine might even be inclined to join the group, as they do hold seals currently so what's one more. Edmonton also has seals but I'm not sure they have the space to go for them. Problem would be the acquisition. It's really too bad finding orphans or injured walruses wasnt as common as it is in seals and sea lions further to the south. We have the wild population. We just lack people in the right place at the right time to do anything about it. To get even one that way would take incredible luck.

Toronto's commitment was weak. Though they were supposed to arrive in 2020 and had keepers training at the aquarium in January and February with an anticipated arrival in early spring, the zoo had done absolutely none of the renovations needed by then. They hadnt even picked a contractor. They called off the keeper training in early February knowing there was no way they would be ready for arrival in 2020 at all. Then the pandemic hit and they haven't been mentioned since. I think they gave up before the pandemic even became and issue.

I couldn't speak to the others commitment.

I do realize the aquarium is more than willing to loan them out. They sent the calves to Vancouver for awhile. They were going to send the females, possibly a pregnant female to boot to Toronto. I would guess that if someone offered them a trade they would be willing to listen. I could see them talking to another holder and saying look we will lend you our young male and female but we need a breeding age female in return. Bet they would ideally like two females again. Just terrible luck they lost both proven females.
 
TZFan said:
Toronto's commitment was weak. Though they were supposed to arrive in 2020 and had keepers training at the aquarium in January and February with an anticipated arrival in early spring, the zoo had done absolutely none of the renovations needed by then. They hadnt even picked a contractor. They called off the keeper training in early February knowing there was no way they would be ready for arrival in 2020 at all. Then the pandemic hit and they haven't been mentioned since. I think they gave up before the pandemic even became and issue.
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Thank you for sharing this! It's definitely a shame that they failed to take any immediate action in pursuit of the species but I've found that that's the way things tend to be with walruses. Very, very poor management and tendency towards inaction in many cases.

I was told that renovations had been put off due to COVID, but that they couldn't currently confirm plans to continue with the project because "everything is still changing as we reopen and adjust". I suspect they'll likely complete the renovations at some point, if for no other reason than to have the option open ahead of future availability as for example Zoo Hannover's Yukon Bay has also done (there's that benefit of the doubt again :D).
 
Oh no Toronto most definitely will not complete any unnecessary renos for walruses. Either they will do it because they are getting them, unlikely now that they cannot have two females and a potential calf to do their research study on mother/calf relationships, or they will save the money and use it for another project. Toronto doesn't have the money even in pre pandemic times to toss money around on anything unnecessary. The zoo hasn't officially said they were cancelling the plan but it seems pretty evident. They could have done work any time during the last two lockdowns. They have been doing other work so its not like the time was totally unproductive for them. It would have been the ideal time to do it without having to pull the polar bears off display.

I dont think them not getting the walruses was due to poor management. They tried to get a contractor and had the plans. They just couldnt get a contractor. Sometimes they struggle to get people for some reason. They had the job available twice. Then things just started to unravel. Couldnt build without a builder, then the female polar bear they were to get as part of the deal died (not a big deal), then covid, then the adult female walrus died (probably the nail in the coffin), and lastly the aquarium took on two younger male polar bears leaving likely not enough space for our two. Though with oldest males Eddy's death that might not be an issue. They could probably house both pairs of brothers. Just snowballed on them.
 
TZFan said:
Oh no Toronto most definitely will not complete any unnecessary renos for walruses. Either they will do it because they are getting them, unlikely now that they cannot have two females and a potential calf to do their research study on mother/calf relationships, or they will save the money and use it for another project. Toronto doesn't have the money even in pre pandemic times to toss money around on anything unnecessary. The zoo hasn't officially said they were cancelling the plan but it seems pretty evident. They could have done work any time during the last two lockdowns. They have been doing other work so its not like the time was totally unproductive for them. It would have been the ideal time to do it without having to pull the polar bears off display.

I dont think them not getting the walruses was due to poor management. They tried to get a contractor and had the plans. They just couldnt get a contractor. Sometimes they struggle to get people for some reason. They had the job available twice. Then things just started to unravel. Couldnt build without a builder, then the female polar bear they were to get as part of the deal died (not a big deal), then covid, then the adult female walrus died (probably the nail in the coffin), and lastly the aquarium took on two younger male polar bears leaving likely not enough space for our two. Though with oldest males Eddy's death that might not be an issue. They could probably house both pairs of brothers. Just snowballed on them.
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Thank you for this insight! I do apologize for accusing them of inaction regarding the renovations, I definitely misinterpreted your previous response. It seems to have been a series of unfortunate events that was largely outside of their control from day one in that case -- although I'm not so sure how their proposed mother/calf behavioral research would have gone, considering their primary duo consisted of what would have been a 4 year old calf beyond weaning age as of the projected 2020 exhibition date, which had already been separated from her mother for a period of two years during a transfer to Vancouver -- and also considering that their cow had lost a pregnancy four months prior to the initial announcement from Toronto and was from that point forward recommended to not be bred again by her veterinarian. Without being too critical of such a prestigious facility, I can't help but question the value of any data resulting from such research :p
 
Yeah I wasn't too sure about the research of mother calf relationships as their primary focus. They could have just said we want to do a cool temporary exhibit and leave it at that or some story about climate change research. I definitely got the impression they were expecting her to deliver a new calf at some point during her visit. If she wasnt to breed again you are right that study wouldn't make much sense. Oh well I highly doubt it will be an issue anymore.
 
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