Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Happy “Otterdays” from Ollie the Otter | Hugh 
As my Holiday gift to my readers I thought I’d share some of the cuter images of our newest sea otter Ollie and also an amusing anecdote of one of her adorable antics.
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The American Cetacean Society Brings us Good News! | Kera
The American Cetacean Society does an annual census of southbound and northbound gray whales off of Point Vicente and it’s official… the first gray whale has been spotted! According to the census, the whale was breaching as well. Hopefully that’s some kind of foreshadowing of what this year will look like.
Video | Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, December 09, 2010
A New Adventure in “Otter” Space | Hugh
The little orphan sea otter whimpered softly as she crawled onto my lap. Finding it a worthy substitute for a momma otter’s belly she proceeded to curl up and began to groom her baby fur with her paws. Still unable to fully tend to her fur all by herself I helped by using a towel and comb to work on her problem areas. After a few minutes her swirling paws were starting to slow down and her eyes were getting heavy. Then one of her paws gripped the towel I was using to dry her and moved it across her body like a blanket. Moments later the little furry critter was fully asleep on my lap looking like a child snoozing on a bed. Thus began my newest Adventure in Otter Space.
Whale Watching | Mammals
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
An Early Showing for the Gray Whales This Season? | Kera
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On November 20, 2010 we switched from our Dolphin and Sea Life Cruises to Gray Whale Watch. Although the major flux isn’t until usually until later in the season, the pregnant females are the first to head south and we could start seeing them at any time.
Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, November 18, 2010
FUN WITH SEA LIONS | Hugh
A warm sunny day, a playful sea lion and a Frisbee in hand adds up to a lot of fun! Check out the video of our staff having some fun with the Aquarium of the Pacific sea lions last summer.
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Playful Minke Joins the Pod | Kera
A few weeks back we switched from Blue Whale Cruises to Dolphin and Sea Life Cruises and full of dolphins it has been! This is a time where we’re waiting for the gray whales to get here after the blues have left for the season. Although gray whales are still a few weeks out, there is still lots to see out there, including playful minke whales.
Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Tactile Training | Hugh
In Nature documentaries when a researcher wants to physically examine a large wild animal you often times see them shoot a dart containing a sedative to immobilize the creature or physically restraining them with nets or ropes. Here at the Aquarium of the Pacific we have a different approach. We gain their trust so they allow us to physically examine them without fear and without the need of restraints.
Volunteering | Birds
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Lola the Cockatoo Starts a Race | Hugh
Possibly the best known animal at the Aquarium of the Pacific is not a shark or a sea lion. He doesn’t even know how to swim! He is Lola the Cockatoo.
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A Summer’s Worth of Blue Whale Data | Kera
As the blue whale season is starting to wind down, our work with the blue whales at the Aquarium isn’t over yet! If you happened to get on a whale watch over the summer, you might have noticed an additional Aquarium person on board. That was one of our photo ID interns. Over the past four months we’ve had eight different interns on board collecting data during all of our whale watching trips. Read on to find out what we’ve been doing!
Whale Watching | Mammals
Thursday, October 07, 2010
HUGH’S LIFE LIST OF THE WHALES AND DOLPHINS OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST | Hugh
With the excitement of Blue Whales in our local waters I thought it would be nice to give folks an idea of what other cetacean that can potentially be seen in Southern California. This week I am sharing my life list of whales and dolphins that I have encountered from San Diego to the Channel Islands.
