About a year ago, I was out on the boat as usual and was super excited to see all of the animals in the area. At this time, the gray whales had pretty much finished up migrating through our waters. We’d still see a few stragglers here and there. This was also the time that humpbacks poked their heads into our waters. Around this time every year we get humpback whales that also pass through here. Their migration is a little different and the majority of the humpback whales we see are coming from Central America and Mexico. I’d recently seen my first two humpback whales, and couldn’t wait to hopefully find more. And boy was I in for a surprise! On May 1, 2008, I got a very nice showing. I saw flippers, fins, and flukes, oh my!
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Although during the weekend of the Long Beach Grand Prix the Aquarium of the Pacific is closed, the animals still need to be cared for and necessary facility maintenance can be taken care of. For a husbandry volunteer it may look like a thankless job to be working in an empty aquarium while the roar and excitement of the Grand Prix Celebrity race are just yards away outside the front entrance but in reality its a day that veteran volunteers look forward to. Its one of the few times of the year that the husbandry staff has the Aquarium critters to themselves and, after the necessary chores are done, can have a days worth of playtime with the animals.
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Every year the gray whale makes a migration that is longer than pretty much any other animal in the world. They start from way up in the northern waters of Alaska and the Bering Sea, and in October head south on a 6,000+ mile trip to the lagoons in Mexico. After spending a couple of months down there, they then head 6,000+ miles back up the coast, passing by us, just as if they were traveling back and forth on the 405 freeway. Who would have thought that whales would have to commute???
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I recently was asked why California doesn’t have as many “cool-looking fish” as places like Hawaii or the Caribbean. That question surprised me, because I think the answer is very different!
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Even though I’ve known Brook the sea otter since the Aquarium of the Pacific opened in 1998, this spring I will have the opportunity to work with her without a piece of Plexiglass between us and get to see parts of her personality that I haven’t experienced before.
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