Video | Volunteering | Birds | Mammals
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Early Morning at the Aquarium of the Pacific | Hugh 
My favorite time on Saturday mornings during my weekly volunteer shift at the Aquarium of the Pacific is the hour just after the Aquarium opens and just before the majority of our guests arrive. This week’s blog includes a short point-of-view video shot last Saturday via a “volunteer-cam” in an attempt to share with you, the reader, a bit of the magic of that first hour of the day.
Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Hugh’s Top Ten Reasons For Volunteering 5000 Hours At The Aquarium Of The Pacific | Hugh
No matter what part of the country my business travels may take me during the workweek, be it the urban maze of New York, the wilds of Alaska, the mountains of Colorado or the swamps of the Carolinas, I’ve always made it a point of getting back to Southern California in time to cover my Saturday volunteer shift at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Sometimes it’s meant taking a late red-eye flight or finding an unusual connection through tiny airports but somehow the majority of the times I’ve managed to make it back to cover my shift. In fact this month I’ve recorded my 5000th hour as a volunteer at the Aquarium.
To commemorate this personal milestone this week’s blog is a list of the top ten reasons why I’ve volunteered so many hours to the Aquarium.
Volunteering | Fish | Sharks
Monday, August 17, 2009
Feeding Time With Our New Tiger Shark | Chris
As you may have heard, the Aquarium now has a young female tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) on exhibit in Shark Lagoon! In honor of this groundbreaking display, I’ll be writing about the beautiful girl for my next couple blogs. Recently, I had the opportunity to be up close and personal for a Saturday morning feeding.
Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, August 13, 2009
CHECKING OUT THE SEA OTTERS | Hugh
One of my newer duties at the Aquarium of the Pacific is to work with the sea otters in their home in the Northern Pacific Gallery. As I build my relationship with the otters and learn more about their personalities, I am beginning to interact with them using some of the more important husbandry behaviors that allows the staff to check over the animals health. Husbandry behaviors are behaviors that are taught to an animal to allow their human caretakers to monitor their health without causing undo stress.
Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, July 16, 2009
SEA LION HIGH ENERGY BEHAVIORS | Hugh
Just like human kids, young sea lions have a lot of energy. Because of this, the trainers at the Aquarium of the Pacific are teaching our young sea lions high energy behaviors to keep them mentally and physically fit.
Volunteering | Mammals
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
SEA OTTER ICE ENRICHMENT | Hugh
Southern Sea Otters, aka California Sea Otters, like the one’s on exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific, never experience snow or ice in their natural habitat. Just like native Southern Californian going up to the mountains to experience a real winter for the first time, romping around ice and snow holds a strange fascination for Southern sea otters. This week’s video includes a cute video of one of our otters playing in a patch of ice.
Volunteering | Birds | Mammals
Thursday, June 18, 2009
AQUARIUM CRITTERS IN SLOW MOTION | Hugh
From an otter carefully grooming her fur to a porcupine enjoying a ride on his keeper’s arm; sometimes the beauty of an animal can best be seen in slow motion. This week’s blog includes a video of some of the Aquarium’s critters viewed in slow motion.
Volunteering | Mammals
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Brook Has Soft Paws, and Other Things I’ve Noticed About the Aquarium’s Sea Otters | Hugh
Since I’ve started working up close with the Aquarium’s sea otters I’ve noticed a few things about these furry critters that I hadn’t known before. This week’s blog is on 5 things about sea otters that I bet you didn’t know.
Education | Volunteering | Fish | Sharks
Monday, May 25, 2009
Shark Summer with the Horn Shark | Chris
In honor of the beginning of Shark Summer here at the Aquarium of the Pacific, I thought I’d tell you about one of my favorite local sharks – the horn shark!
10 Year Anniversary Stories | Volunteering | Mammals
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Celebrating Ellie the Harbor Seal’s 20th Birthday | Hugh
On May 16th 1989 a female harbor seal was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was named Elga in honor of a local philanthropist. In 1998 Elga found her way to California where she helped open the new Aquarium of the Pacific as one of the main attractions in the Southern California Baja Gallery. At the Long Beach-based Aquarium, the seal’s East Coast sounding Elga became the more SoCal sounding Ellie. On May 16th, 2009 the Saturday marine mammal crew celebrated her 20th birthday.
