Seattle Aquarium

Today’s the day! The eagle rays are gliding, the mangrove trees are towering, the clownfish are nestling into anemones—and the Seattle Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion expansion is now open. 🐠 At the Ocean Pavilion, you'll come face to face with 3,500 animals and plants, including rays, sharks, schooling fish, mangroves, nearly 30 species of coral and more. The Ocean Pavilion will also use state-of-the-art, 360-degree, digital displays to tell a story about Earth's one ocean. All waters are connected—from our beloved Salish Sea to the Coral Triangle across the Pacific. At the Ocean Pavilion, we’ll explore how our fate and the ocean’s are connected and how, together, we can make a difference for the ocean we all depend on. This expansion of our campus and our mission has been over a decade in the making, and we can't wait to see everyone experience it for the first time. Prepare to dive in: https://lnkd.in/gRmYaxep 📽️: Devin Muñoz

We’re proud to have collaborated with American Humane on the new documentary, “Escape from Extinction Rewilding”—featuring our Chief Conservation Officer Erin Meyer, PhD discussing kelp forests and sea otter populations! This film follows the tireless conservation efforts of organizations implementing rewilding practices across a diverse array of species in equally diverse environments—from the forests of Rwanda to the Pacific Coast of North America. 🦦 Through powerful storytelling and compelling cinematography, this film highlights how humanity, when armed with knowledge and compassion, can halt the decline of countless animal species and restore the environments we call home. “Escape from Extinction Rewilding” premieres today, September 27! If you're in the Seattle area, catch it at Big Picture Downtown Issaquah. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gRkJnk7c #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek

Today for #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek, we're celebrating our scientists! For years, Aquarium researchers have regularly surveyed sea otters and their diets. 🗺️ Each June for the past 24 years, Seattle Aquarium researchers have participated in an annual survey documenting the increasing trend of Washington's sea otter population. Fun fact: Washington's sea otter population has been estimated to be growing at a rate of 10% each year! 🦪 And each month since 2010, Aquarium biologists have been hiking our state's outer coast to collect foraging data and document what sea otters eat. When otter diets start to diversify (meaning they eat a variety of non-preferred foods), the otter population has reached local carrying capacity and needs to expand into new territory. In one day, our research team might document over 600 otters across three different sites along the coast. Read more about tracking wild sea otter populations: https://lnkd.in/g5KYRNEH 📸: Research Scientist Amy Olsen

We think #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek rocks. Speaking of rocks... did you know that sea otters can use them—or other hard surfaces—to crack open their food? Or that sea otters don't actually drink fresh water? Instead, they get their water from the foods they eat and the ice they consume. Check out Mishka showing off her skills to get at some tasty—and hydrating—treats. (And be sure to turn your sound on.) 📽️: Supervisor of Birds & Mammals Aubrey

Happy #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek! We'll be talking all things sea otters, all week long. What's a better way to start than by introducing you to the two sea otters we care for here at the Seattle Aquarium: Mishka and Sekiu! 🦦 Both Mishka and Sekiu are female, northern sea otters. Mishka joined us in January 2015 after being caught in a fishing net as a young pup, then being rescued and rehabilitated by the Alaska SeaLife Center and deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Sekiu was born right here at the Seattle Aquarium in January 2012. Sekiu was the last sea otter born in a zoological facility in the United States. AZA-accredited institutions now prioritize keeping space available for sea otters that were rescued, rehabilitated and subsequently deemed non-releasable (like Mishka was). Need help telling them apart? The fur on Mishka's face is darker in color than Sekiu's! Try to identify them on our live cam: https://lnkd.in/dtKZNciS

This past weekend, we celebrated Barney the harbor seal's 39th birthday! 🥳 Barney was born at the Seattle Aquarium on September 14, 1985. Since then, he's been stealing the hearts of staff and guests alike and inspiring millions to help protect his beloved and charismatic species. Barney is decidedly elderly for a harbor seal. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the median life expectancy for harbor seals in zoos and aquariums is about 25 years. At 39, Barney has lived well beyond that. In fact, his biological age is about the equivalent of a 100-year-old human! As our Curator of Birds & Mammals Veronica Seawall noted: “Barney remains one of the oldest harbor seals in human care—possibly the world—that we know of." Here at the Aquarium, we have a number of geriatric, or elderly, animals entrusted to our care, and our expert team works hard to create environments that meet their evolving needs as they age. Read all about it on our website: https://lnkd.in/gqRZq4bg

Meet an Indo-Pacific leopard shark at our Ocean Pavilion expansion! 🦈 Yeah, these sharks look cool (like, super cool) but for us, they're part of something much bigger. In the wild, these slow-swimming reef sharks are now nearly extinct due to overfishing and habitat loss. And sadly, these sharks haven’t responded to measures that have restored other endangered species, like creating marine-protected areas and banning fishing. As a founding member of the international ReShark collective, we’re working with partners to change this by restoring their wild populations to marine protected areas. As its name suggests, the goal is to “reshark” the ocean by restoring healthy populations. Accredited aquariums help sharks already in human care reproduce, and then transport the resulting eggs to nurseries in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Once hatched, the sharks are reared, tagged and released into marine protected areas within their home waters. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gitaYG76

Our Ocean Pavilion expansion opens in less than a week and our team has been hard at work getting everything ready to go! We've been posting regular updates on our website—here are some you might have missed: • The tale behind this tail ⚪ Can you identify this species that recently moved into the Ocean Pavilion? Here's a hint: He can be *spotted* gliding through The Reef. • You won't "belief" this playscape reef! 🪸 The Coral Reef Encounter at the Ocean Pavilion allows youngsters and families to explore what it might be like to live on a coral reef—discovering the sights, sounds and textures below the surface in a cozy, kid-size tunnel. You can even see what it’s like to be a clownfish, nestled within the tentacles of an anemone, in a colorful, cushioned nook! • Speak of the devil 👀 The elusive devil scorpionfish is a new resident of our closer-look habitat, At Home in the Ocean. Scorpionfish are known for their venomous spines and the canny camouflage that helps them hunt. In the wild, their prey, including invertebrates and small fish, should keep an eye out for these ambush predators. As always, you can stay up to date with our live news feed: https://lnkd.in/giKjiDzT

Chef, author and Seattle Aquarium member J. Kenji López-Alt recently partnered with the Aquarium to map a food-centric day along the Seattle waterfront. Kenji’s itinerary includes several snack stops—and a pause to pet some sea cucumbers at our Life on the Edge habitat. 🗺️ Nothing beats food with a Puget Sound view! Follow along as Kenji makes it a day on the Seattle waterfront: https://lnkd.in/gwVFVKqA When you spend a day on Seattle's waterfront, what are your go-to spots?

Initiative 2117 (I-2117) will be on the ballot this November and we are calling for Washingtonians to vote NO! I-2117 would undo progress made under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which helps things like conservation projects, expanded public transit, job creation, and other climate work. For example, without the CCA and the funding it provides, it will be much harder to implement salmon recovery projects in the future. The costs of I-2117 are too big—but we can prevent that outcome. That’s why we need your help. Pledge to vote no on I-2117 and help spread the word: https://lnkd.in/ge-D5yqX