Aquarium of the Pacific | Aquarium Blogs | 10 Year Anniversary Stories
When Perry Hampton arrived in Long Beach in February of 1997 from Baltimore, one of his first duties was to help establish holding facilities for the many animals they would soon begin to accumulate for the Aquarium’s exhibits. These facilities provided interesting challenges and had them improvising creative solutions to problems on a daily basis. Perry Hampton is the Director of Husbandry at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
The first animal that I worked with on the Grand Opening day was Ellie the harbor seal. Her old feeding station was right next to the Plexiglas window in front of the seating area. Ellie was a very intelligent and patient seal with her rookie feeder that day. Ten years later, she’s still is with her now veteran volunteer.
Claudia Harden, currently a presenter at the Aquarium, shares her experiences of being a charter volunteer and touring the Aquarium before construction was completed.
Which animal at the Aquarium of the Pacific has been there the longest? Is it one of the sea otters? Perhaps it’s one of the seals? Maybe even one of the sharks? Actually the animal with the longest tenure at the Aquarium is Topaz the cat. Now… I know what you’re thinking: What is a cat doing at an aquarium? Well, truth be told, Topaz was here at the site way before the first fish ever swam here. This is his story.
The land that the Aquarium of the Pacific sits on was once offshore of an old rollercoaster called the Cyclone Racers. With photographs, this week’s blog explores a bit of the history of the Rainbow Harbor area.
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