Aquarium of the Pacific Blogs

Farewell May Grays!

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:46 GMT

The first few weeks of May have given us the final glimpses of our Pacific gray whales and many cow/calf pairs! Since the first we have had nine sightings of gray whales, eight of which were females and young calves. We have been lucky enough to have some very special and intimate moments with the baby grays and their mothers. All in all it has been a fantastic gray whale season and our numbers are bigger than ever. Though we are not seeing many grays pass us by to head back to their feeding grounds up north at this time, we may still see some stragglers in the next few weeks.

Since we have started the official blue whale season on May 1st, we have yet to sight one here in Long Beach, but there have been some local sightings. This means that any day they could be here to show us their amazing filter feeding skills soon! As long as our water stays cool this summer, we will have a better chance of having more krill-filled waters off of our coast and more blue whale filled waters too! Two minke whales were spotted on the other side of the oil rigs on one whale watch occasion. These whales are the smallest of our local baleen whale species only reaching around 30 feet in length and are usually very skittish. Few sightings that lasted longer than a few minutes have ever been reported on our whale watches but sometimes we will get a curious individual.

The dolphin species in our area have really been taking over the show in the last few weeks. We have been seeing some incredible dolphin feeding behavior on our trips and were even able to catch some of it on our cameras. The local common dolphins have been seen frequently around massive congregations of birds feeding on small fish. Dolphins have amazing feeding behaviors including slapping the water with their flukes to stun their prey, chasing them down at up to 40mph and corralling the fish into a bait ball while they take turns lunging to feed. It is quite a sight to witness the dolphins slapping and corralling their prey as the local marine birds such as pelicans, gulls and migratory terns dive to collect the fish who are being persuaded to the surface by the small toothed whales. Dolphins are pretty opportunistic feeders and feed whenever they can on a multiple variety of bounty including small fish, squid, and crustaceans. One trip we even witnessed a few bottlenose dolphins feeding on and playing with what looked like a halibut!

If you would like to search for blue whales and playful dolphins come on out for an adventure on the water! We hope to see you soon!

A gray whale calf glancing at the boat as its mother travels close by. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A gorgeous shot of an adult gray whale's fluke gracefully emerging from the water. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Birds and common dolphins feeding on a bait ball. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A bottlenose dolphin playing with a halibut before eating it. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Welcome Back Charlie!

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:46 GMT

The critter that pushed the envelope in otter behavior is back in Long Beach.

Charlie the Sea Otter is famous amongst zoological institutions. He was the first sea otter trained to give a voluntary blood sample. For the past couple of years Charlie was up north in a famous research facility participating in an important research project on sea otter hearing. Now that that research is concluded he has returned to his home town of Long Beach.

Charlie the Sea Otter is one of the original animals of the Aquarium of the Pacific. If any otter could be called a professional otter it would be him. This large male otter is willing to learn almost any behavior and do that behavior precisely to criteria when asked. Of course at the end of that behavior he expects a generous compensation for that effort. He practically likes plenty of clam and shrimp as payment although an occasional king crab leg would be fine also. I’ve always joked that if you offered Charlie enough clams he would learn to do just about anything.

Long-time staff and volunteers sometimes call him “Chuck” for short. It seems appropriate. Whereas Chuck Yeager was known for pushing the envelope for test pilots; “Chuck Otter” has pushed the envelope for sea otter behaviors. If offered enough clams I’d bet you that Charlie would have learned to fly and broken the sound barrier himself if asked.

You can see Charlie at the Aquarium of the Pacific’s BP Sea Otter Exhibit sometime later this month (after he’s out of routine quarantine).

Welcome back Charlie!

Charlie is the most professional sea otter I've ever worked with. | Hugh Ryono

Charlie the sea otter is very precise when offering his behaviors. | Hugh Ryono

Cows, Calves and Breaching Whales!

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:17 GMT

These last few weeks of April have been filled with mother and baby gray whale moments. This is the peak time of the season where we see the most cow/calf pairs heading back to Alaska since they are the last groups to leave Baja. Since the 15th we have seen 14 pairs of mother and calf grays, sometimes shy and sometimes not. Some mothers will keep their calf hidden on the opposite side of her as we watch them go by, and others will show their calves in plain sight. We have gotten a few great looks of these extremely young grays and it is so hard to believe they have to make close to a 6,000 mile journey within the first couple months of their lives! Some of our trips have even been lucky enough to see 2-3 cow calf pairs in one day of whale watching. The adult gray counts have really started to dwindle with only 14 sightings.

Blue whale season has officially started as of May 1st, so we will start venturing out to deeper waters to see if they have begun their feeding frenzy. We will often spot them filter feeding on krill patches along the contours of the underwater canyons that litter our coastline along the infamous California Bight.

Some of the highlights of these last few weeks have been many breaching whales. Recently, we have seen gray whales breaching within a few feet of the boat which is very exciting and not often seen. Fin whales have also been reported to be breaching which is extremely rare! Fin whales average at around 65 feet, and that is a lot of whale to get out of the water! We also had a couple of amazing sightings of a couple huge Northern Elephant seals. These seals are typically found in colonies on San Clemente and Santa Barbara Island, but may have been in the area foraging. Adult male elephant seals can weigh over 5,000 pounds and have been known to dive over 2,000 feet for squid! The individuals we saw looked to be a few thousand pounds and when floating at the surface looked like small whales. It is a special treat and we even have a couple of photos of one popping his head out of the water.

We also have an update on the humpback sightings from earlier this month. After comparing the barnacle positions and fluke shots of the whales, we have determined that they were two different individuals. Dolphin sightings have been phenomenal with thousands of common dolphins feeding on bait fish and proposing alongside the boat and a few bottlenose sightings as well. As you can see there is so much to see out on the water and every day is different, so come out if you feel adventurous!

A great shot of a recent blue whale surfacing for air. | Captain Carl Mayhugh

A breaching fin whale! | Captain Carl Mayhugh

A rare sighting of a Northern Elephant Seal checking out our boat. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Steller Sea Lion Getting “Thiggy” with California Sea Lions

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:19 GMT

Parker is the Aquarium of the Pacific’s largest California sea lion. Standing next to him in the pinniped exhibit I am in awe how massive he’s become. This summer he should top out at about 700 pounds! And he’s still growing! Yet this favorite sea lion of mine is a mere Hobbit when compared to the largest of the Otariidae, the Steller sea lion. While up in Moss Landing a few weeks ago I got a first hand look at the difference in size between Zalophus califonianus and Eumetopias jubatus.

A gracious invitation from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to visit my favorite sea otter Gidget aka the Furball in her new surroundings had led me to spend Spring Break in the Monterey area. While exploring Moss Landing I was surprised to encounter a rather large Steller sea lion haul out on a dock surrounded by dozens of California sea lions. It was stunning for me to realize that the smaller sea lions around the Steller which at first I thought were small juveniles were actually Parker size adult males. This Steller Sea Lion was displaying Thigmotaxis behavior with its smaller cousins. Thigmotaxis is the scientific term to describe an animal’s need to be in physical contact with another animal. The staff refers to it as an animal getting “Thiggy” with another critter.

Male Steller sea lions can weigh in at close to 2500 pounds and can reach lengths of 10 feet or more. For comparison a typical full grown adult male California sea lion weighs in at about 800 pounds and reaches a length of just over 7 feet. Sadly the Steller sea lion population is in decline. The Western US stock is listed as Endangered while the rest of the population is listed as Threatened.

More prevalent in Northern waters they are rare visitors to Central and Southern California. I felt fortunate to actually encounter this one at the Moss Landing entrance to Elkhorn Slough. I once saw one at the tip of Catalina 20 years ago and helped rehab a young Steller that stranded in SoCal in the late 90s. This was only the third wild Steller Sea Lion that I’ve seen South of San Francisco and the closest I’ve ever been to an adult male.

On the same day I also saw a female Southern sea otter hanging out on a dock with a group of California sea lions. In this case the otter was not displaying Thigmotaxis behavior. She may have been using the sea lions as a deterrent to aggressive and amorous male sea otters.

As for the Furball she is doing great in her new home and is being cared for by a wonderful, well trained staff up in Monterey. I know she is in good hands.

Parker the sea lion seems huge when compared to mammalogist Megan. Yet Parker is a mere Hobbit when compared to a Steller sea lion. | Hugh Ryono

A slightly wider shot of the Steller sea lion seen on April 8, 2013 at Moss Landing near the entrance to Elkhorn Slough. | Hugh Ryono

In this and the previous images the sea lions are displaying Thigmotaxis behavior. The need for one animal to be in physical contact with another. Getting "Thiggy" for short. | Hugh Ryono

Not only did I find a Steller sea lion hanging out with California sea lions at Moss Landing, I also saw this female sea otter sharing a dock with them. In this case the otter is not displaying Thigmotaxis behavior. She may be using the sea lions as a deterrent to amorous male sea otters. | Hugh Ryono

One Whale, Two Whale, Gray Whale, Blue Whale! Killer Whales and Humpbacks too!

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:25 GMT

Whales everywhere! So far, April has been a great month for seeing multiple species of whales and dolphins, and we have had some pretty exciting trips. The blues are still being sighted periodically and we have had five sightings already this month! We have been seeing some great lunge feeding action with the blues and the fins, and fin sightings are up as well with 23! Northbound grays have also been sighted frequently, but the numbers are getting smaller since we are nearing the end of the migration. Thirty-six northbound grays have been sighted so far along with a few cow-calf pairs. These grays, from Long Beach, have a few thousand miles left before they make it to their final destination to their feeding grounds in Alaska.

We had a fantastic surprise on the 10th with a pod of 7 Bigg’s killer whales! We have been having killer whale sightings more often than prior years which make for an even more exciting whale watch. This pod consisted of one juvenile, an adult male and several adult females perusing the coast. According to Alisa Schulmen-Janiger from the California Killer Whale Project, these whales’ primary home is off the coast of Monterey California, and one of the females was identified as “Hopper”. This is only the second time she has been reported in this area, and this is the furthest south she has ever traveled to our knowledge. Killer whales are the largest of all the odontocetes, or toothed whales, and they are very talented hunters. There is a reason they are called the ‘wolves of the sea’ and will predate other whale species. Often times we spot these whales hunting off of our coast and this time there was a harbor seal at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We got yet another surprise on the 12th and the 14th with two humpback whale sightings! We have been viewing photos of the humpback to try and make an ID or see if it has been the same individual. This is the third humpback whale sighting in the last month, so maybe it is the same one we keep seeing or maybe there are several? We will keep researching and comparing photos to find out. They are always great to see because they usually spend a lot of time out of water and give an excellent show. This individual was breaching, and slapping the surface with its giant pectoral flippers and even showing its fluke. Some of the reasons humpback whales exhibit these behaviors are to attract a mate, communicate food availability, or to knock off parasites living on their skin. Though our local migrating humpbacks do not mate in our local waters, they could still be communicating to other whales that there is krill and small fish in the area to feed on.

Hundreds of common and bottlenose dolphins have also been sighted almost daily riding alongside the boat. If you would like to come out and have an amazing adventure with us out on the water and see some beautiful animals, we would like to see you!

Blue whale surfacing its massive body to take some breaths. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A perfect heart shaped blow created by a gray whale headed back to Alaska. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A recent humpback whale breaching out of the water. | Aquarium of the Pacific

An incredible shot of a common dolphin surfacing and the bubbles forming on its back. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Critter Portraits

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:38 GMT

This week I’d like to share some critter portraits I’ve taken over the past few months.

During my volunteer shift at the Aquarium of the Pacific I always carry a camera with me. It’s a holdover from my flight test photography days where you never knew when an image or video needed to be captured or an action documented. In the case of the critters at the Aquarium you never know when they may do something cute or interesting.

For you technology fans out there here is the gear list that I carry to the Aquarium every Saturday. On my belt is either a Canon 260 or an Olympus Tough point and shoot camera depending on how wet I may get. Both are great for grab shots. For the more formal shots I use a Canon 60D DSLR camera with various lenses. It’s a lot heavier to lug around but the image quality is excellent. All three of these cameras can also shoot HD videos along with stills.

I also keep a Go Pro camera around for those times that I send Milo or Harpo out to shoot some shots in the exhibit. Yes, these two sea lions sometimes act as pinniped paparazzis. Check out the Aquarium’s YouTube Channel to see some of the videos they’ve shot. The recent ones are in HD.

Working around such photogenic and interesting critters it’s no wonder that I always like having a camera around so that I can share wonderful animal moments with my readers.

Shelby the Harbor Seal's pup Bixby at nearly a year old. | Hugh Ryono

Maggie the Sea Otter showing her fuzzy side. | Hugh Ryono

Avery the Magellanic Penguins highlighted by the early morning light. | Hugh Ryono

Orcas, Blues, Humpbacks and Baby Grays!

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:44 GMT

We have been having phenomenal whale watches the last few weeks of March! Orcas, humpbacks, minkes, fins, grays and more early blue whales have filled our recent trips with excitement. It all started with Bigg’s orca sighting off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes of a small pod and one of the individuals had never been spotted this far south! The following week we spotted something making an enormous splash in the distance by the oil rigs and it turned out to be a juvenile humpback whale playing in the water! The whale was constantly rolling around, slapping its pectoral flippers on the surface of the water, and breaching! Their pectoral flippers are about 1/3 of the total length of their body, about 10-15 feet! It is suggested that these whales slap the water in various ways to attract a mate and this whale may have been trying to get the attention of any other humpbacks in the area. In the same area were tons of seabirds feeding at the surface on krill along with several fin whales!

Everyday this month has given us some sort of great sighting or surprise! In between the humpbacks and orcas many gray whale calves have been sighted swimming alongside their mothers and in some cases accompanied by another adult. Sometimes a couple adults will travel with a cow and calf pair to act as an extra barrier between the calf and outside dangers like Bigg’s orcas. Bigg’s orcas are the orcas that specialize in marine mammals. Just recently the name was changed from transient orcas to Bigg’s orcas. There is usually no coincidence that we see more orcas during gray whale season than other times of the year. Some of the gray whale sighting highlights have been some breaching behavior and also a couple of playful juveniles rolling around, spy hopping and traveling with a pod of common dolphins.

Right in the mid month, we had several days in a row of blue whale sightings. Of course, as mentioned before, our typical blue whale season does not start until June, but we have been seeing more and more blues feeding on krill out by the contours of the vast underwater canyons that speckle the California Bight. As this is being written, this blue is back and had been spotted a few times within the last few days. We don’t know if this means the season will be different this year, but it sure seems that things may be shifting with the usual blue whale season. Maybe the season will start early and end early, or maybe we will get a longer season. Whatever happens this summer, I hope they stay for a longer period of time because they are a wonder to watch and it is so much fun being with whale watch guests when they see one for their first time!

The sightings to date from mid month to now are 83 grays, 19 fins, 9 blues, 3 minkes, and 1 humpback! Hundreds of dolphins are spotted almost daily including commons, bottlenose, and a few pacific white sided. This means that we have been seeing several animals a day so it is a perfect time to come out with us in search of these incredible ocean mammals. See you soon!

A playful humpback whale rolling and exposing its pectoral flippers. | Captain Carl Mayhugh

A blue whale circling for krill near other whale watch boats and our own. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A gray whale turning its head and exposing one of its eyes out of the water! | Aquarium of the Pacific

A pod of common dolphins traveling at high speed. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Otter Wish List

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:30 GMT

It was one of the cutest and most fun enrichment sessions I’ve had with the otters.

A simple child-like teething toy that the Furball was greatly enjoying was bringing a big smile to my face. As she chewed and tugged on the durable plaything I thought to myself how neat it was that such a simple item could bring so much happiness to this otter. There were several different toys and treats in the exhibit for the otters that day and the Furball was doing her best to enjoy all of them.

Enrichment items such as the ones pictured with the Furball and Odin are just some of the things this month on the Animal Care Wish List. In a wonderful program set up by the Aquarium the public can help the husbandry staff obtain items like these to add to the mental and physical health of the animals through this wish list. Sort of like a bridal registry for our furry little critters. Check it out at http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/wishlist

Who knows? These items may show up in a future blog or video.

The Furball squeezes a ball during the same session as the first pictures. | Hugh Ryono

Even older otters like toys. Here Odin plays with a ball in the exhibit. | Hugh Ryono

More Blue Whales!

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:54 GMT

Is the season starting early?

The blue whales came back for more! We were hoping that seeing a blue as early as February this year would indicate the start to an early season, but not this early! We have had 10 sightings of the blues since the beginning of March, mostly within the last week! They have consistently been feeding on krill and showing us some amazing lunge feeding. We do not know if this means that the season has officially started this early but it sure is a pleasant surprise and a treat for all of the whale watch tour guests. In the past around February or March we’ve seen a couple of blues in the area probably checking for the krill availability, with other blues arriving in large numbers around June. But this year, it seems many of them have come to stay for a while. If this does mean the 2013 blue whale season is starting early, it will be interesting to see how the whole season changes, if at all.

I, of course, am super excited to have the blues back early, since these whale watches are always full of excitement. The first time I ever saw a blue whale was while working on our whale watch tours, and it was such an amazing moment. To this day, every time I see one, it still blows me away at how large these marine mammals are, and how they can consume 8,000 pounds of krill in one day. Watching them lunge feed at the surface, right in front of the boat, is one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen while in the field with wild animals. I hope this means we will see them for a longer period of time this season. It is also pretty neat to see blue whales and gray whales all in one day!

Now even though the blues have been stealing the show in the last week doesn’t mean they are the only whales we have been seeing. We are still in gray whale season and have been seeing several north bounders with 33 sightings since the beginning of the month. But let’s not forget about the fin whales because since the first of the month, we have had 56 sightings! Along with seeing the blues, there have been several fin whales joining in on the krill party and it is common for us to see both fins and blues together feeding in the same area. We also had a fun surprise a few days ago as an elephant seal popped its head out of the water to check out the boat.

Dolphin sightings have been occurring almost daily as well, which is always nice to see. They bring playfulness to the trips and are always fun to watch as they ride along the wake of the boat. We have had almost daily occurrences of dolphin sightings which range between the four main species we encounter; common, bottlenose, Pacific white-sided and Risso’s. If you feel adventurous and want to go search for some whales with us, come on out on a whale watch tour guided by experts!

Two gray whales travelling north together | Aquarium of the Pacific

Three gray whales all fluking one after the other! | Aquarium of the Pacific

A fin whale searching for food with gorgeous Santa Catalina Island as the backdrop. | Aquarium of the Pacific

Hundreds of common dolphins riding the waves. | Aquarium of the Pacific

iPad-Playing Penguins

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:45 GMT

Penguins chase a virtual mouse

Take an old obsolete iPad. Load up a cat game app. Place in front of a couple of young curious penguins and you have the recipe for a fun time for these aquatic birds and a pretty neat video.

With the coming of spring a mature penguin’s thoughts turn to finding a mate. The pairing of birds has already started in the June Keyes Penguin Exhibit. But what of the young penguins like Newsom and Jeremy. Still too young to think about mating and with most of the other penguins busy trying to impress the opposite sex these young birds are feeling a bit left out of all the excitement.

As an enrichment for these youngsters aviculturalist Sara told me about her idea of using an iPad game made for cats as penguin entertainment. Just like cats penguins are very curious and the idea of these birds following a virtual mouse on a screen was just too appealing to me not to try out. Dusting off my old iPad 1 and loading Game for Cats app on it we set up a penguin video arcade in the exhibit last week.

Sure enough when Jeremy and Newsom noticed the iPad in the exhibit they both waddled on over. Jeremy was the first to try it out but Newsom was the one that really got into it. Stalking the virtual mouse intently he tried to pick it up repeatedly with his beak. Newsom especially seemed to like the squeak that the mouse made when he put his beak on the virtual critter. The mouse was self reinforcing for this penguin. Newsom set the penguin high score of 1600 for the game.

The video below shows just how much fun they had with the game. Listen for the mouse squeak when Newsom touches it with his beak.

Newsom tries out the iPad game. | Hugh Ryono

Newsom's High Score. | Hugh Ryono

Our First Blue Whale and More!

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:30 GMT

That’s right! We sighted our first blue whale of the season already on February 18th! Typically our blue whale season starts in June and ends around late October but we do tend to see early blues every year. This is one of the earliest blue sightings we have had in the past few years. The first blue sighting last year was in March, and the prior years, in April. We guess these whales are scouting out the area in search of the krill they will all be gorging themselves on in the near future. Since they have an amazing ability to vocalize hundreds and even thousands of miles under the right conditions, it’s possible they could be communicating about food availability to the others. Krill availability largely depends on upwelling. Upwelling occurs when the deep cold waters are pushed to the surface due to surface winds. Colder water equals more nutrients, which means more krill. So, I hope our water temperatures stay cool this summer, and that this early blue means an early start to the season!

In addition to the exciting blue whale sighting, February has overall been an amazing month for spotting animals. From the mid-end of February we have seen a total of 56 fin whales and 21 gray whales along with thousands of dolphins! The fins have been happily feeding and we have had some awesome trips watching them lunge feed at the surface. We have also been seeing more and more northbound gray whales, which are headed back to Alaskan waters after their ‘vacation’ down in Baja California. Breaching grays have also been making the trips exciting and as always, very spontaneous. Although the majority of the gray whale sightings have been going north the last few weeks, there have been a few southbound grays that are just a little tardy in their migration as well. Dolphin sightings have been strong with hundreds of bottlenose dolphins and the return of the Risso’s dolphins too! It’s been a few months since our last Risso’s sighting which of course is always a nice surprise.

Now that we are in the month of March, the gray whales will be in full swing for the northern part of their migration, so this is an excellent opportunity to see these seasonal wonders. The weather has been getting warmer as we continue these fabulous days out on the water with trips filled with wild life! So come on down and see me or one of my colleagues on a whale search in Long Beach!

A fin whale busy working on lunge feeding thousands of pounds of krill in one bite! | Aquarium of the Pacific

A beautiful breaching gray whale! | Aquarium of the Pacific

A bottlnose dolphin leaping clear out of the water in an amazing display of their flexibility and strength! | Aquarium of the Pacific

A nice surprise of a large pod of Risso's dolphins. | Aquarium of the Pacific

The Furball Through The Years

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:13 GMT

Watching a Sea Otter Grow Up

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to watch the Gidget the Sea Otter as she grew from a shy orphan pup to a good natured young adult. This week I’d like to share some images of the sea otter that I affectionately call the Furball through the years.

A grooming and drying baby Gidget showing why I nicknamed her the Furball. | Hugh Ryono

Gidget at two and a half years old. | Hugh Ryono

My favorite picture of Gidget playing on a patch of ice. | Hugh Ryono

Gidget waiting for me to take her picture. | Hugh Ryono

The February of Fins

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:06 GMT

This February has been a fantastic month for whale sightings! Not only have we been seeing the transition between the south-bound and north-bound gray whale migration, but have been seeing fin whales almost daily! From the beginning of the month to Valentine’s, we have recorded 39 gray whale sightings and an even more impressive 55 fin whale sightings. The local fin whales have been putting on quite a show and we have been seeing them lunge feeding and circling their prey. The number of sightings per day of these giant filter feeders ranges from 1 to 11 all in one area! Now, just because they are feeding in the same area, does not mean they socialize like a pod of toothed whales would. Fin whales are a baleen whale, and these types of whales tend to be more solitary. So we have just been seeing multiple individuals, ranging from smaller 40 foot juveniles to the larger 65 plus foot adults, at their favored feeding area of the day. These whales are not krill exclusive and have even known to eat small fish as well. We are suspecting that the nutrient-rich waters have been more prevalent at the surface, therefore allowing us to spot the second largest animals on Earth more frequently, and seeing what they do best: eat!

The gray whale sightings have also been exciting as well, with more courting behavior being witnessed around the boat. We have even had a couple of trips where the gray whales were breaching out of the water several times, and one whale was rolling around by the boat! As Kera mentioned before, we have been witnessing much of this courting behavior that you would usually see in Baja in our waters more than ever this year. Much of the breaching, rolling, and whale one-on-one behavior seems to be correlating with the purposeful mingling these whales know they must do. Along with the giant splashes from the gray whales, we were even fortunate to see a humpback whale making some splashes on one of our trips as well! On February 4, we encountered one of our local humpback whales that seldom pass by. Another great surprise was a lone enormous Steller sea lion sitting on a buoy occupied by several of our local California sea lions. This near-threatened species is the largest of all the eared seals, with males weighting over one ton! This individual was quite large and could have easily weighed over 1,500 pounds. Their usual habitat range is from the central Channel Islands and North of them, so this sea lion was an out-of-towner!

Our oceans have been filled with whales and even more sightings of our seasonal Pacific white-sided dolphins, along with our local common and bottlenose dolphins. So come on out and spend some time searching for whales along our beautiful coastal waters!

A breaching gray whale. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A fin whale about to dive for another gulp. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A fluking gray. | Aquarium of the Pacific

A rare steller sea lion sun bathing on a buoy. | Captain Carl Mayhugh

Love is in the Air for Gray Whales Too!

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:26 GMT

When we get in to February, the first thing I think of is Valentine’s Day. It looks like the grays ways feel the same way because on February 1, 2013, we had some incredible mating behavior with gray whales right in front of our boat.

Our Spring interns have arrived and are now trained and on the boats daily. Their job is to go on all of our whale watches, collect data on our sightings, and then document it with pictures. One of our interns got quite a show of gray whales exhibiting mating behaviors on the boat and she got some great photos to document it as well.

Each year during the gray whale migration we see lots of different groups of whales. In the beginning of the season we normally see individuals moving quickly past Southern California as they try and get down to the warmer waters of Baja quickly so they can give birth. They are the whales that got pregnant last year and are ready to give birth. Next we normally see the smaller groups and what seem to be the “singles”. During this time is when we might see some frisky behaviors like we did on February 1. These are the whales that are hanging out together on the way down. It’s like a singles cruise. Everyone is mingling.

When gray whales start to court each other there tends to be a lot of commotion. There can be rolling, spy hopping, and close rubbing of the animals. My intern witnessed all of these behaviors and even got some great photos so I can show you! Who knows, maybe all of this will lead to a calf next year!

Besides having some exciting courting going on, we’ve also had a ton of Pacific white-sided dolphins! I mentioned this in a previous blog, but we’ve had even more. You might also hear these dolphins called Lags. That’s short for their scientific name which is Lagenorhynchus obliquidens. I feel like we’ve had more sightings this year than the last few year combined. It might have something to do with the increased squid sighted off of our coast. Either way, I’m just happy to be seeing them so much!

As the gray whale season is in full force, now is a great time to join us on the water. You never know what the whales will bring, but so far this February it seems to be right in tune with Valentine’s Day!

A gray whale rolls and then goes down bringing the fluke up during its courtship with another whale. | Aquarium of the Pacific | Lilhac Medina

A Pacific white-sided dolphin surfaces for a breath behind the boat. | Aquarium of the Pacific | Kera Mathes

Just a couple of the many lags we've been seeing. | Aquarium of the Pacific | Kera Mathes

Adventures in Otter Space

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:52 GMT

Epilogue

The Furball’s Story Comes Full Circle

The little female otter pup was whining as I entered the behind-the-scenes holding area in the Aquarium of the Pacific during the fall of 2008. This was the orphaned otter’s first night at the Aquarium, and she definitely seemed to want attention from her human caretakers. The sea otter baby was found alone on the Central Coast of California. Deemed too young to have the skills necessary to survive in the wild and too old to be put into a surrogate otter mom program that would have had foster parent otter females teach her those skills, the orphan was fortunate to have found an adopted home in Long Beach.

While getting into the waders that would allow me to join her in the shallow waters of her tank, I noticed that the otter’s total attention was fixed on me. When I was finally in the water with her, the orphan’s whines turned into whimpers as she swam near. This was my first meeting with the critter that I would affectionately call the “Furball”.

Because she was a young orphan the staff would keep an around-the-clock watch on her for her first few months at the Aquarium. This included feeding her several times day and night. This coverage put a strain on the paid staff. Thus this volunteer (me) was recruited into being a surrogate “dad” for the little pup to fill in the gaps between the paid staff shifts. This began what I call in this blog my “Adventures in Otter Space”.

I stood still in the water and let the young otter swim around my waders to get used to me being with her. Her whimpers stopped as she felt more secure having someone around with her. I then moved over to a little island set up in the tank that allowed her a place to haul out and allowed me a spot to sit down. It was going to be a long eight hour shift so it was nice to not have to stand throughout the night. The air trapped in the wader allowed my legs to float straight out on top of the water while I sat. It also allowed me to get most of my body out of the cold water for a while. In addition it provided a safe harbor for the otter. I was surprised when she came over to me and used my wader legs as a breakwater to float and snooze out of the gentle circulation currents of the tank.

The pup and I hit it off well from the beginning. She seemed to feel very comfortable and secure having me around that first night. In fact, a couple of times when she was fast asleep, I decided to get up quietly to get out of the water for a while. As soon as she noticed that I was gone and was headed up onto the deck she started to whimper and then whine loudly until I got back into the water with her. The vocals of a whining baby otter are one of the most ear piercing sounds in nature. I could not stay out of the water very long while she was uttering her cries.

Grooming is a very important skill that sea otter pups need to learn from mom. Having no blubber layer, they have to keep their fur extremely clean and well-kept as it needs to trap air to form an insulating layer to protect them from the cold water. The little otter had yet to master this skill. Baby otters often climb up onto their mothers to groom. Since I was acting as a surrogate parent, she would haul out onto my floating legs as I sat on the island and proceeded to rub her fur with her paws. There were areas on her fur-covered body that she just couldn’t seem to tend to properly. Because of this, one of my duties was to formally groom her as needed. This involved lifting her out of the water onto the island and drying her off with a towel. I would then proceed to comb her fur until it was nice and neat. Not for vanity’s sake but to keep her from getting chilled. I have to admit that grooming a baby otter is a pretty neat experience. It was extremely cute the way she would occasionally try to help me by going through her fur while I was combing. At the end of all this grooming she would be a lot drier and puffier and sometimes sound asleep. It was because of the way her fur would puff out after grooming that I began to call her the Furball. She looked like a puff ball of fur when dry. She wouldn’t have a name for several months so rather than call her the baby, pup, or quarantine otter which sounded so sterile I started to refer to her as the Furball.

Feeding the little otter was a lot easier than I thought. Instead of an impatient little critter whining and fidgeting around like the sea lion pups I once helped raise in San Pedro many years ago during my marine mammal rescue days, she would instead patiently float right next to me as I placed small portions of clam and shrimp on her chest. Occasionally after she would finish one piece of food she would calmly extend her paws outward waiting for the next piece. She reminded me of a football player waiting to catch a punt.

It was a memorable first night together. When Rob Mortensen, assistant curator of birds and mammals at the Aquarium of the Pacific, stopped by the next morning to check on us he found the little otter sound asleep next to me.

This would be the start of many nights that the Furball (eventually she would end up with the name Gidget) and I would spend together over the next few months.

During the orphan sea otter pup’s first fall season at the Aquarium of the Pacific, I would spend three to four nights a week caring for her in addition to spending the day with her on my regular Saturday shift. Being a volunteer with a full time “regular” job, this meant that sometimes after work I would head straight home to get a few hours of sleep and then drive the twenty miles down to the Aquarium from my home in Fullerton for the overnight sea otter sitting session. After my shift I would take a quick shower at the Aquarium and then change into my business clothes and head off to work at my office in Cypress. Another scenario was for me to head straight to the Aquarium after work, change to my Aquarium uniform and then have a vending machine dinner consisting of chips and days old sandwiches while watching the Furball enjoy her select pieces of gourmet quality shrimp and clams.

Was it worth going through all this trouble just to help care for an orphan sea otter pup? You bet it was worth it! I had the pleasure of watching her grow up and got to observe her personality as it evolved day by day. While she started off as a shy clingy pup she soon became a curious, innovative, and bold otter. At the start of every shift we had to do a survey of the tank because Gidget had a habit of trying to unscrew the bolts that held the drain cover in place. A couple of times she managed to take one completely off. I thought that this was amazing she could do this as I had to use a wrench to do the same thing! One of the more otter savvy of the staff, Michele Sousa told me that taking things apart is what sea otters do. They continuously checked out every nook and cranny around them with their paws looking for food or things that interest them even if that means tearing something apart.

While Gidget was comfortable with the people who were regularly watching over her, she was very nervous of new people who came into the holding area. This told me that the Furball Gidget could recognize individuals. Even on days when it was raining and only the faces of the caretakers were visible underneath raincoats she could tell who was new versus who was her regular babysitter. I also discovered that she had great eyesight. The Furball was always intrigued when the Goodyear blimp would fly over her outdoor area. She would look up and stare at it in apparent wonderment. Then one day another blimp flew overhead and she let out a loud “WHOA!” (her cry actually sounded like the little robot in the movie “WALL-E”). When I looked up to see why she sounded her alarm I noticed that this particular airship had a large cartoon dog displayed on its nose. She was spooked by a Snoopy logo on the blimp.

Eventually, just like a mother otter, we started to wean the Furball off of resting on our legs in the water and having us groom her. She was getting bigger and she had to learn to do more on her own. However this didn’t stop her from wanting to be lying right next to me to groom herself whenever I sat on the island in the holding tank. I figured it gave her a sense of security to be close by me while out of the water.

Finally the day came when the Furball was introduced to the Aquarium’s sea otter exhibit for the first time. I must admit that I felt like a proud parent when I watched her dive into the exhibit amongst all the kelp fronds and fish that decorated her new home. My fondest memory of that day was being outside the exhibit where guests usually stand and having Gidget swim over and gaze at me through the glass with a happy look of recognition that only comes from an animal that you’ve really had a good relationship with. At that moment I knew that all the nights I sacrificed while caring for this orphan sea otter pup was worth it.

I’ve written a bi-weekly blog for the Aquarium of the Pacific’s website since 2007 and many of them during the past four years have been about my interactions with Gidget. With titles such as Adventures in Otter Space, Otter Life Lessons, and Why I Love The Furball, Gidget’s life story is well documented in words, images, and videos. I was fortunate that the staff allowed me to continue working with the Furball, along with the Aquarium’s other sea otters after she moved to the main exhibit. I was the first Aquarium volunteer to be allowed to work directly with these cute but potentially unpredictable animals.

Gidget has been my stress reliever during her time at the Aquarium. The times I’ve spent during training and enrichment (play) sessions with her have become some of the “happy places” in my mind. The Furball has a distinct look when she sees someone she feels comfortable around. Her eyes widen and her face softens as she stares at you.

One incident highlighted the special relationship between this otter and me. One of the practical behaviors taught to the sea otters of the Aquarium is to dive down into the water and retrieve objects when asked by the trainer. This is used with toys tossed into the water or when training items such as target poles and vitamin syringes are accidentally dropped into the exhibit. One Saturday a small L-shaped hex wrench was dropped into the water while some maintenance was being done in the exhibit. Three veteran otters were sent down to find it. Gidget and I were watching this from the other end of the exhibit. All these otters came back empty handed despite numerous attempts. If they couldn’t find it the trainers would have to take the otters off exhibit and don wetsuits to enter the cold water to search for themselves. With the continued failure of the older otters their trainers were beginning to look a bit frustrated so I called out “let us try.” As I brought her over, partly kidding and partly serious, I said “Gidget loves me. She’ll find it for me.” Looking a little skeptical, the professionals moved their otters out of the way.

Twice I sent Gidget down, and twice she came back empty handed. After the second try I held the palms of my hand up and out to the side in a “what-was-that?” look. On the next dive I could see her using her dexterous paws to search in the crevices of the rock facade at the bottom of the exhibit. She stayed under for what seemed like a very long time. When she came back up I couldn’t see anything in her paws so I figured she had failed again. Just as I was doing my “what-was-that?” expression again, from under her armpits she pulled out the missing wrench. After she handed it to me, I proudly held it up for all to see and said “Look what the Furball found!” “I don’t believe it”, said one trainer. After the failure of the older otters, the success of this young otter was a surprise to them. It was the proudest moment that the Furball and I had together. A volunteer and his young otter succeeded where the professionals and their more experienced otters did not.

This winter her story comes full circle. Since Gidget stranded at 10 weeks old at Morro Bay, she was too old to take part in the surrogate otter program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) program. Ironically, the orphaned pup is being groomed herself to become a foster mom in SORAC. Because of her good natured personality she is considered a prime candidate to help raise orphan sea otter pups with the wonderful goal of returning them to the wild. I can’t think of a finer epilogue to my Adventures in Otter Space with the Furball than this.

First night grooming Gidget.

The Furball seemed to enjoy being groomed when she was just a pup.

A "formal" shot of me and the Furball. Actually Gidget is floating close to me because she didn't recognize the person taking the picture at first. | Pam Ryono

Happiness is knowing a Sea Otter. Love That Furball! | Robin Riggs

Our First Few Weeks on the Water of 2013

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:29 GMT

They started just like 2012…with orcas!

I would say 2012 was one of the best years on the water for me. Why? Because I FINALLY saw orca whales in our waters off of Long Beach with the first time being January 2, 2012 to be exact. A day I will never forget. I had some idea they were on the water because our boats saw them on January 1, 2012 as well. What a perfect way to start the New Year! How did our boats start 2013 this year? Well with orcas again, of course!

One of my favorite groups of orcas are the CA51s. We call them that because the mother of that group is CA51. They’ve been nicknamed the friendlies because they will come right up to the boat. I ended up seeing them three different times in 2012 and I can’t wait to see what 2013 will bring. It looks like we’re off to a great start though because they were seen again on New Year’s Day for 2013! Although our boats didn’t see them on January 1, I did, however, see them on December 23, 2012 and got quite a show! We had the youngster, Comet, as well as the large male in the group. Comet is a two year old female. She’s so small compared to the others. You definitely know who she is and she’s absolutely adorable! We had some exciting behaviors with some of the whales coming right up to the boat being “friendly.”

You might wonder how I know who these whales are and that’s because I work closely with Alisa Schulman-Janiger anytime there is a sighting. She heads up the Southern California Killer Whale project and can easily recognize these animals. I’m getting better at identifying them, but she knows so much about these animals including their family history. These animals are truly amazing!

In addition to orcas to start off the year, we’ve also had quite a few gray whale sightings. Right now we’re in a great time to see lots of gray whales, including some babies! The gray whales migrate to warmer southern waters of Baja to give birth or mate. However, there are also births that happen on the actual southern migration and we’re lucky enough to see some of babies when they’re brand new to the world. The babies are pretty small, measuring about 15 feet long and about 1,500 lbs. Some small baby, huh? If they’re very recently born, you can see little wrinkles on them. They will lose these wrinkles relatively quickly. You can also tell that the baby is new because they won’t have barnacles or a lot of whale lice yet, so they look all gray. They’re so precious and will stay very close to mama.

One of the other gray whale highlights I’ve had this year already is watching a gray whale interact with a large pod of common dolphins. We had a gray whale that was traveling south when this pod came racing over to the gray whale and started “bow riding” off the mouth of the whale. A lot of times we see the dolphins get a little extra push from our boat, but this time they got that push from the whale. This is actually where the bow riding originated from! I’ve only ever seen that happen two other times. It was so awesome!

Our count to date since January 1st for gray whale sightings is 68 with one cow/calf pair and 63 for fin whales! We also had an incredible once in a lifetime day on Sunday January 20th with a mega-pod of 23 gray whales all traveling together! This type of sighting is very rare and not many pods of this size are ever seen. Usually they travel in small groups of up to 2-3, and many travel alone! It was so amazing to see the multitude of spouts and they were even fluking simultaneously! We have also been seeing the seasonal pacific white sided dolphins as well almost every trip, along with the common and bottlenose dolphins.

If you didn’t make it out over holiday break, there is still plenty of time to see whales! We’re in the heart of gray whale season and are hoping for lots of sightings this year.

One of the juveniles named "Comet" from the CA51 matriarch pod seen December 23, 2012 | Kera Mathes

Common dolphins bow riding a gray whale. | Kera Mathes

A fin whale showing us part of its head. | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Incredible shot of the elegant and seasonal pacific white sided dolphins porpoising alongside the boat. | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Hiding From Killer Whales

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:20 GMT

Grays Whale use Kelp Forest to hide from Orcas

On New Years Day 2013, four killer whales from the pod known as CA-51 swam past Point Vicente where I was helping out the Gray Whale Census Project spot cetaceans. As I went down to the cliff side to get a better angle on the orcas my wife Pam yelled at me to look down. When I did I was surprised to see two gray whales apparently hiding out in the kelp below the cliff.

Two juvenile gray whales were in the middle of the kelp forest being low key as the killer whale pod (1 large male and 3 smaller orcas) were swimming by about a mile away. One of the whales slowly surfaced while draped in kelp looking like a marine sniper dressed in camouflage. They kept a low profile as their predators swam by to the extent that they even surfaced on their sides so that their blows were at a slight angle to the surface of the water.

When the killer whales had swam several additional miles away what the grays did next amazed me. Maybe it was the relief of the danger passing or maybe it was just whales being whales. While still in the kelp they proceeded to become very touchy-feely with each other. They rolled over, under, and around each other contorting themselves at angles quite impressive for 30- to 35-foot animals. All the while rubbing against each other. They were probably too young to actually mate so this was more like play. It made me wonder if they had actually gone to the kelp to hide or were already there when the orcas showed up and went low profile as they passed. At this age they didn’t have a real need to go all the way down to the Baja breeding lagoons. They could take their time and dawdle whereever they wanted.

They continued this activity for nearly an hour and a half after the Orcas had left. Not a bad way to start a new year.

Killer whales from the pod known as CA-51 swim past Point Vicente on New Years Day 2013. | Hugh Ryono

Two juvenile gray whales get touchy-feely in the kelp beds below Point Vicente. | Hugh Ryono

These two gray whales continued their tactile play for an hour and a half after hiding out from a pod of killer whales. | Hugh Ryono

The Gray Beginnings

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:46 GMT

It’s official: Gray whale season has started and we are well into having consistent sightings! Our first sighting this season was on November 28, and since then our trips have been full of activity. The gray whales spend half of the year feeding in the nutrient-rich waters off of Alaska in the Bering Sea in order to intake a large amount of calories to make their incredible migration south. Around October, they leave the Alaskan waters and begin one of the longest migrations that any mammal in the world partakes in. They travel around 7,000 miles down the coast to the warm lagoons of Baja California in areas like Magdalena Bay, Scammon’s Lagoon, and Bahia San Ignacio. These lagoons provide an excellent protected area for mothers to give birth to their calves and for single whales to mate. After a month or two they leave the lagoons, calves in tow, to get back to their Alaskan feeding grounds. This journey is a total of 12,000 to 14,000 miles round trip! We are so fortunate here in southern California to able to see these magnificent animals not only on their journey south, but also on their return trip back up north. At this time we are seeing the southbound adults and juvenile whales, but have not had any calf sightings. The pregnant females usually pass by first, followed by single adults and then the juveniles. These whales are solitary but have been seen traveling together and even showing mating behavior during our trips. So far we have had nineteen sightings in December.

Not only have we been sighting the gray whales, but also we are seeing many other cetacean species. Since our last blue sighting on November 18, the 70-plus-foot-long fin whales have been sighted seventeen times, often lunge feeding at the surface, along with two small pods of Bigg’s orcas (formerly named transient orcas)! While the fin whales are sighted all year long, we seldom see killer whales in our area and only have had a handful of sightings every year. These pods are from Monterey Bay, California, and are a subspecies that primarily eats other marine mammals. They are seen off of our coast predating on sea lions, dolphins, and gray whale calves but are known to also prey on seals and minke whales.

We have also been sighting fantastic large pods of common dolphins, coastal and offshore bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, and even one sighting of twenty seasonal Pacific white-sided dolphins. Pacific white-sided dolphins are found in the temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean and are often sighted off of our coast in late winter and spring. We never know what we are going to see out there, so come on out on an adventure in search of gray whales!

Close up of the dorsal view of a gray whale, so close to the boat! | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Two fin whales surfacing together after lunging for food. | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Bigg's killer whale right near the boat! | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

incredible close up of a common dolphin riding alongside the boat. | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Happy Holidays From The Otters

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:21 GMT

As a holiday treat for our otter fans I’d like to share a video of the sea otters enjoying their snowman and treats during this month’s Holiday Treats for the Animals festivities.

A Snowman for the Otters

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 19:33 GMT

An Annual Tradition Continued

During the annual Holiday Treats for the Animals festival it has become a tradition for me to build the first snowman of the season for the sea otters in their exhibit. I will be sharing some images and annecdotes on this year’s creation.

When the annual Holiday Treats for the Animals festival started a decade ago, on a whim I decided to make a small snowman for the sea otters using some of the snow imported into the Aquarium for decoration. Using ice treats made of blended clams to create eyes, ears and buttons and crab legs for the nose and arms, the snowman became an enrichment item for the three original Aquarium otters to explore and enjoy. Back then Brook would delicately pull the buttons off one by one and stash them in her armpit while Summer would efficiently retrieve the nose to munch on. Charley on the other hand just bowled it over seemingly getting delight out of tackling the man of snow like a football player.

The snowman for the otters over the years has evolved into a much larger creation that blends in nicely with the Winter Wonderland theme that we create in the exhibit each year. This year’s snowman is much stouter and taller than that original one. Brook still delicately pulls the buttons off while youngster Betty seemed like she was having fun trying to figure out what was edible on her first snowman. One of the adaptations I made over the years was to not just place the ice treat eyes, ears, nose, arms and buttons on the snowman but to actually fuse them into the body by using the warmth of my hands to melt the ice together. This made the ice treat a little harder to pull off so that the otters had to do a little problem solving to retrieve them, something that otters love to do. Maggie used her claws to surgically dig out one of the arms while my favorite otter, Gidget was content to pick out the treats buried in the snow around the base of the snowman. Ollie, after trying and failing to remove the eyes, came up with a unique solution of her own. She made like a Ninja Otter by placing both paws on each side of the head and twisted it sharply until it fell off. The trauma of the head hitting the ground loosened the treats and she was then able to easily pull them off.

While all this was going on with the girls Odin was enjoying his “spa day” in the back area of the exhibit getting his treats in relative peace and quiet.

The snowman is a unique enrichment item for the Aquarium of the Pacific’s sea otters and they really seem to enjoy it each year.

Betty seems amazed at all the treats surrounding her first snowman. | Hugh Ryono

Ollie enjoying a treat next to the snowman. | Hugh Ryono

Betty and Maggie enjoying the Holiday Treats. | Hugh Ryono

Ollie really seems to enjoy the ice treats and snowman. | Hugh Ryono

From Blues to Grays to Blues and Fins!

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:36 GMT

That’s right! We have had 3 blue whale sightings and 16 fin whale sightings on our trips between the middle of November to the present! Our spontaneous and unpredictable blue whale season has made for a very interesting, and awe filled November! Lunge feeding blues, fins and mike whales have filled our waters on recent trips. We have also had many days where the krill and even squid could be seen right at the surface of the water. We have also had an influx of dolphin activity, especially the Rissos’s, who love to eat squid. Thousands of birds and sea lions swimming in large rafts (or groups) have been seen joining in the feeding frenzies as well. We are guessing that the water has cooled off and recently brought the krill and other nutrients up from the depths for all of these large mammals to feed on.

Hopefully the blue whales haven’t gotten their fill of krill this from this summer since the waters were warmer and are going to stick around a little longer! Presently, we are still receiving reports of blue and fin whales quite frequently. We cannot predict how much longer we will have them here, but it is such a pleasant surprise. It wouldn’t be the first year that we’ve had some blue whales hanging out until the end of the year and even overlapping into gray whale season. Good thing the ocean is big enough for all of our seasonal whales!

Our most recent gray sighting was on November 28th, but it is still very early in the season. We will expect to start seeing them more frequently in December, and even more throughout the New Year. In addition to the larger whales, we’ve also had many of our trips filled with multiple dolphin sightings with some trips having sightings of over 1500 common dolphins! We have also been seeing many calves swimming alongside their mothers’ and a lot of courting behavior as well. Overall it has been quite an exciting November, and who knows what the next months will bring! So, come on out on a whale watch with the aquarium and see these magnificent creatures up close.

Blue whale surfacing around a patch of kirll and hundreds of birds. | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Fin whale lunging toward it's next meal while bringing part of its head out of the water | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Fin whale lunging for food, check out the white baleen inside of it's mouth! | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Common dolphin calf swimming alongside its mother and the boat! | Aquarium of the Pacific Photo ID

Penguin Love Triangle

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:24 GMT

The Soap Opera in June Keyes

Throughout the spring it was a wonderful duet. The elder penguin from San Diego would call out to his mate and the young female from Brazil would answer in kind. Then a young male from San Francisco entered the picture.

Roxy was rescued from the beaches around Ipanema, Brazil. The unreleasable juvenile Magellanic Penguin was brought to Long Beach to further her treatment. Later a 19-year-old of the same species was transferred to the Aquarium. The older penguin Henry liked the youngster and took her under his wings. They were constantly together. When Henry would sing out his penguin call Roxy would answer back in a harmonious tone. Throughout the spring they happily preened and frolicked together as a mated pair.

Then came the summer molt. Roxy entered molt first. During this time she bloated up and lost her beautiful feathers. Henry was very dedicated to Roxy during this stressful time for her. He kept guard over the nest box while Roxy was inside looking like a plucked chicken. He kept the other penguins from bothering her. When she finished her molt she was more beautiful than ever.

When Henry went through his molt right after Roxy got her new feathers she did not reciprocate. She instead let her eyes wander over to Floyd who was showing off his penguin manliness by porpoising and racing through the water every morning, something that Roxy also enjoyed doing. Floyd hailed from San Francisco, was just a year older than Roxy and had finished his molt about the same time as her. The two soon hit it off and while Henry was hunkered down in the nest box molting, Floyd and Roxy became mates. As far as penguin relationships go, it made more sense for the two young active birds to pair up. However it was still sad to see Henry after he emerged from the nest box all alone after his molt. He and Roxy were no longer a pair.

However being the debonair penguin that he is, it didn’t take long for another female to notice Henry’s mating calls weren’t being answered. Kate is now eyeing Henry and spending much more time near him. Nobody stays alone long in June Keyes. It’s like one big party house for penguins

File this under the penguin soap opera in June Keyes.

Happier times for Henry. Roxy just entering molt standing next to Henry. | Hugh Ryono

Roxy and Floyd swimming together. | Hugh Ryono

Jeremy, Ludwig and Newsom check out the newly mated couple Floyd and Roxy. | Hugh Ryono

Roxy singing with Floyd in harmony. Something she used to do with Henry. | Hugh Ryono

From Blues to Grays

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:29 GMT

Well, our blue whale watch has slowly come to an end and gray whale season is officially starting on Friday November 16! The trips will leave daily at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The last few weeks of our blue whale season during the end of October and the beginning of November have unfortunately not been filled with blues, but still have been full of activity. The last blue whale sighting was a beautiful one with a mom and a fairly large calf (probably 7-8 months old) on October 18th. Like mentioned before, the unusually warm waters this season was not the kind of nutrient rich chilly water that these blues come here for feeding! They have traveled on to more krill-rich waters on their mysterious next leg of their journey. Our photo ID interns helping us collect data for the Cascadia Research Collective on board our recent trips have been hard at work interpreting the data they received throughout this season and photo identifying each individual blue that we encountered.

Since our last blue whale sighting, we have seen some amazing common dolphin action and some super pods that included thousands of dolphins! Since we observe mating bevavior throughout the year, we have also been seeing many healthy looking calves as well. We have also had a few days of Risso’s dolphin sightings possibly due to the recent increase of surfacing squid. Some of these pods have been quite large with over 40 Risso’s and a few bottlenoses mixed in as well. Sometimes we spot what look like hybrids that are part Risso’s and part bottlenose!

The most exciting day that we have had in recent whale watches I was luckily enough to be a part of. There was a sighting of large whales off of point Vicente on Sunday November 4th and our goal was to get there fast on the first trip of the day. Once we got to the site, there were two adult fin whales, one minke whale, and thousands of birds all feeding at the surface! Since minke whales and fin whales are found off of our coast all year round, they are not dependant solely on krill like the blue’s are. They eat a mixture of plankton and small fish that they filter through their hairy baleen plates. The fins were displaying amazing lunge feeding behavior right at the surface and several times they came up right next to the boat. The minke was busy feeding around the boat as well. For the most part, the weather has been gorgeous and we have had some beautiful evenings and sunsets out on the water.

We are hoping to see gray whales during the end of November all the way through May. In fact, a few have already been sighted. So come on out with the Aquarium of the Pacific to see the incredible Pacific gray whales during their 12-14,000 mile migration past our coast during these next months. See you then!

A large pod of over 40 Risso's dolphins surfing in the wake of the boat | Aquarium of the Pacific

Lunge feeding fin whale at the surface off of Terranea, ventral pleats and all! | Aquarium of the Pacific

Incredible shot of a feeding fin whale, you can see the the whale turning on its side to take a gulp of food right under the water! | Aquarium of the Pacific

Side profile of a local minke whale with a view of the mouth, eye, and saddle markings | Aquarium of the Pacific

Why I Love the Furball

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:32 GMT

Top 10 Reasons

Gidget is my favorite sea otter. When I miss my Aquarium volunteer shift due to being out of town on business trips I tend to go through otter withdrawal symptoms from not being around this adorable ball of fur. Why do I have such affection for this member of the Enhydra lutris species? Here are the top ten reasons why I love the Furball.

10: Her cries as a pup made a great ringtone for my phone.
9: Only sea otter I know of that has taken a self-portrait of herself and her caretaker with a digital camera.
8: She has a mean back beat when she’s banging muscle shells on the deck like a drummer.
7: Her fur makes a great chamois to wipe excess clam juice off your hands with. And you don’t have to wring it clean afterwards. She’ll do it for you when she grooms herself.
6: Always seems to really appreciate the snowballs I make just for her during otter ice patch enrichment time.
5: Her expressive eyes remind me of the eyes of a female anime character and her physical antics remind me of Charlie Chaplin.
4: Will help you out when you accidentally drop something in the water by diving down and retrieving it for you. And she won’t make you feel like a dummy for dropping it in the first place.
3: Actually truly seems to be happy to see you again when you’ve been gone for a while on a business trip.
2: Got to love such a resilient critter. She started out life rough as an orphaned pup. When rescued she was too old to be placed into a surrogate otter mom program and too young to survive in the wild by herself. Basically having nowhere to go she somehow beat the odds and managed to make her way to Long Beach to find a home.
1: The Number One reason I love the Furball is…she’s the otter that began my Adventures in “Otter Space” 4 years ago this fall when I first babysat her as a pup.

Gidget's eyes are very expressive. | Hugh Ryono

Gidget's physical antics sometimes remind me of the amusing way Charlie Chaplin moved in his silent movies so... | Hugh Ryono

While bored in a hotel room during a business trip I decided to photoshop Gidget as the "Little Tramp" from a Charlie Chaplin Movie. | Hugh Ryono

The Aquarium Has a Fan at JPL

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:29 GMT

An Interview with Ben Miller

If you follow the Aquarium on Facebook, you already know staffers geeked out a little bit last month when the space shuttle Endeavor flew over Long Beach on its way to LAX. Endeavor is now on public display at the California Science Center, its permanent home.

We always get excited when we can witness something like that in our own neighborhood—and we get particularly excited when it’s science-related. The very science-y Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in Pasadena, played a key role in several of Endeavor’s twenty-five space missions, including building “the camera that saved the Hubble telescope.”

So I was thrilled to find out that the science-love goes both ways! Aquarium member Ben Miller is the mission control team chief at JPL for the Mars Exploration Rover, also known as Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004. Miller also served on the Curiosity mission control team for the launch last November. He lives on Mars time, teaches math at Cal Poly Pomona part time, and has been an Aquarium member for three years. He says the Aquarium is an important place for people to visit because it helps raise environmental awareness.

Miller has been on staff at JPL for nearly three decades. He got his start testing the software for the Galileo spacecraft, which launched in 1989 and orbited Jupiter. In his current role, he communicates directly with Opportunity:

“In 2003 I became the mission controller, which heads the team that actually sends the files to the spacecraft. We don’t make up what’s in the file—the people who design the driving and instruments and all that type of stuff is a different team. There’s a whole bunch of people who work on the rover. On each set of instruments, they have a little team of people. Those people every day communicate with some scientists around the country, and they figure out where they want the rover to go and then they give their inputs to somebody who puts all these commands together to make sequences. Then they give me a sheet called a radiation sheet. And the radiation sheet has times and the names of the files and officially signed-off information. I check all that, and then I communicate with the Deep Space Network, which is made up of antennas that are around the world. There are three complexes: there’s one in Madrid, one in Goldstone, California, and there’s another in Australia. All of the deep space missions are in view of one of those complexes all the time. They’re about 120 degrees apart on Earth. I talk to the antenna complex and I read some information about the times and different parameters, and then I send those files to the spacecraft.”

He was also on standby for the Curiosity landing in August. If anyone got sick, he would be ready to fill in. As it turns out, everyone on the Curiosity team stayed healthy.

Opportunity completed its original three-month mission on Mars eight years ago. It reached the Endeavour crater last summer and continues to send images back to NASA scientists on Earth, take measurements, and drive around. You can keep up with Opportunity here.

Miller has always been an animal lover and is now something of a cat whisperer. He started taking care of a feral cat near JPL when another staff member asked him to take over while she went on vacation. Pretty soon, Mittens, as he named her, would follow him around, Miller says, and he eventually adopted her as a pet. Today, he pays out of his own pocket to capture feral cats in his neighborhood and take them to the vet for shots and neutering. And he will only turn them over to no-kill shelters, although some have joined his home menagerie.

At the Aquarium Miller recommends using the visitors guide to find your favorite animals and seeing them first. His first stop is always Shark Lagoon and the Ray Touchpool. After that, he likes to check the daily schedule to make sure he catches the show times. His favorite animals include the Aquarium’s seals and sea lions, giant Pacific octopus, sea otters, and diving birds.

“Animals have a right to have their habitats and environments protected and preserved as well,” he says. “The Aquarium gives you a way to see the animals up close and interact with them. It gives you a sense of belonging to nature and perhaps a feeling of community that will aid in preserving the habitats of animals, for them as well as us, on this planet we share.”

Miller holds a life-sized duplicate of one of the wheels on the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. He notes that the wheels on Curiosity, the rover that landed on Mars earlier this year, are much larger.

Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004. Its original three-month mission was completed eight years ago, and the rover is still going strong.

Miller is also a part-time math professor at Cal Poly Pomona.

Where Have the Whales Been?

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:52 GMT

And the blogs too?

If you’ve been following the whale watching this summer and fall in Long Beach, you might have heard that the whales weren’t here like in previous years. Although it’s been a slower blue whale year, the dolphins sure have been keeping us entertained. Read on to find out what’s been going on.

Besides the blue whales missing a little bit this year, so have the blogs the last few weeks. The last few weeks my time has been consumed with a new whale application that will be launching in the near future and will have a whole blog to tell you about it! I can’t wait to share the new and exciting whale happenings here at the Aquarium.

But back to the blue whales… this has been a crazy year. Although over the last couple of months we have had some blue whales, it hasn’t been nearly as full as the last few years. So what is going on? One of the things you might have noticed if you’ve gone to the beach this year is the water was pretty warm! It got up into the 70s!! That’s probably played a pretty big role in the amount of krill that we normally see here in the summer. Remember, blue whales are primarily krill eaters so they are going to go where the food is. If the conditions aren’t right here, we won’t have much krill. Not a lot a krill equals not a lot of blues. Researcher John Calambokidis said that the water is pretty clear out there showing that upwelling has slowed in a lot of areas. It’s that upwelling that helps to drive the krill. Without food, those whales won’t want to stick around. We did hear of a lot of whales pretty far off shore; around 30+ miles. Too far for us to get to, but at least they were off of our coast! I’m hoping that we get some krill here for the last few weeks and maybe we can finish strong. We will see and I promise to keep everyone posted!

We are continuing to look for whales each day and have had some here and there. Our most recent sighting was a cow/calf pair about two weeks ago. While we’re out there looking for the blues, we’re seeing a ton of very acrobatic dolphins! Mostly we’ve been seeing common dolphins and offshore bottlenose. Our interns have gotten some great photos!

In addition to the dolphins, we’ve also had a humpback whale in the area and a gray whale! So although we’re not seeing large amounts of blues, there is still a ton of stuff going on out there in that big ocean! If you’re in the area and want to get on a boat, the tours are still around three hours. On November 16, our trips will shorten slightly to just over two hours as we start gray whale season and look for our annual grays!

A recent blue whale spotted off of Long Beach | Aquarium photo ID intern

A great picture of a gray whale passing by a little early! | Aquarium photo ID intern

A playful humpback visits late in the season | Aquarium photo ID intern

Another bottlenose dolphin has fun jumping out of the water | Aquarium photo ID intern

Strolling Down the River with a Sea Turtle

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:18 GMT

Hugh's Field Notes from the San Gabriel River

Strolling down the river with a sea turtle. A falcon hunts egrets and grebes. Sea lions creatively foraging in the river. A look at some of my field notes from a summer of Green Sea Turtle research at the San Gabriel River for the Aquarium of the Pacific and NOAA.

Excerpts from Hugh’s Field Notes from Aquarium Sea Turtle Research at the San Gabriel River Summer 2012:

Following a Turtle Down a River

11:05 a.m.: First spotted a medium size green sea turtle swimming just underwater while at DWP discharge station 2 (DS-2) as it was hugging the bank headed downstream.

On a whim I decided to follow it as it journeyed down the San Gabriel River. It swam in shallow water along the East Bank headed toward DWP discharge station 1 (DS-1) which is a little over a football field away (350 feet). Along the way it surfaced twice.

11:10 a.m.: Sea Turtle encountered discharge flow out of DS-1 and used the current like an updraft to bank completely around. It then started swimming back upriver. For about half the way back it swam along the bank before making a 90 degree turn at 11:13 a.m. toward the deeper water in the middle of the river. Once it reached mid-river it again turned upriver and swam back towards DS-2.

11:18 a.m.: Sea Turtle arrived back at DS-2.

Incidental Sightings

Falcon Attack

A Peregrine Falcon was sitting on a pole near DS-2. The falcon was watching a distressed looking pie-billed grebe swimming down river. As the grebe took off and flew near the water’s surface the falcon took off and dove down toward the grebe. The grebe in either a defensive maneuver or after being struck a glancing blow from the falcon hit the water and dove underneath. The falcon went back onto the pole. The visibly shaken grebe came to the surface and stayed on the water as it continued downstream. The falcon never repeated its attack and the grebe never left the water within the observation area.

Peregrine Falcon earlier incident: Last year I observed a falcon (possibly the same?) attacking a Snowy Egret as it flew down the river. This egret also escaped by diving into the water.

Foraging Sea Lions

California sea lion corralling a large ball of fish: I observed a young adult male sea lion drifting down the river with a large ball of schooling fish. Occasionally the sea lion would circle the fish apparently herding them back into a ball when the school started spreading out. Every now and then the sea lion swam through the ball and appeared to catch a fish. I observed this behavior for over three hundred yards as the fish and marine mammal drifted downstream. This sea lion was like an aquatic border collie.
California sea lion foraging at Edison Discharge Station: A large California sea lion was observed making apparent foraging runs into the discharge station’s cooling water outflow. The sea lion swam into the current and disappeared for several minutes, possibly entering the discharge pipe line. It would then “surf” out of the discharge station riding the current like a body surfer. I used to hear about sea lions entering power plant pipe lines to catch the fish concentrating in there during my marine mammal rescue days. This was the first time that I actually witnessed one possibly doing it.

Never a dull moment on the river.

I followed this sea turtle for over two hundred yards as it swam just off the bank of the San Gabriel River. | Hugh Ryono

A Peregrine Falcon attacks a Snowy Egret above the San Gabriel River. The egret escaped. | Hugh Ryono

A sea lion herds a school of fish into a ball in the San Gabriel River. The round dark spot in the water by the sea lion is the school of fish being herded. | Hugh Ryono

A sea lion prepares to dive into the outflow of the Edison Powerplant along the San Gabriel River. | Hugh Ryono

Come See Betty the Sea Otter

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:40 GMT

The Princess Otter

Fall’s cool weather has finally arrived in Long Beach and a cool otter has finally arrived. Betty, the baby otter named after Betty White, has been introduced to the older female otters in the main exhibit. She can now be seen daily by Aquarium guests playing with the other otters and scurrying around the exhibit.

Last Saturday was the first time that I worked with Betty in the main sea otter exhibit in full view of Aquarium guests. I have to admit that as much as I love Gidget and enjoy the antics of Ollie, Betty is the most calming young otter I’ve ever been around. When you’re with Betty you get the feeling that she really appreciates that you are there without being overly needy like most young otters. She has a youthful regalness about her than reminds me a lot of the Queen of the Exhibit Brook. Brook has always had a stately demeanor that sets her apart from the other otters. Betty seems to possess that same demeanor but with a fun side. She resembles the princess in Princess Diaries with Brook being the queen in the movie.

Brook has taken a liking to the newcomer. It will be interesting to see if the queen will pass on some of her tricks of the trade to the new princess on the block. It’ll also be interesting to see if Betty will bring out more of the fun side of Brook.

Come on out to the Aquarium of the Pacific and see Betty. It’ll put a smile on your face!

Betty (in front) seems to get along great with the other otters in the exhibt including Brook (in back) and Ollie (middle). | Hugh Ryono

Otter Life Lessons

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 18:47 GMT

Observations from Otter Space

Sea Otters are super cool animals. Since starting my Adventures in Otter Space with the experience of raising Furball, aka Gidget, the orphaned pup several years ago I’ve learned a lot about sea otters. I’ve also learned a lot from them. Here are some Otter Life Lessons to ponder.

SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES CAN BE USED TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

While playing with a Frisbee Ollie noticed another toy at the bottom of the exhibit that she also wanted to have. She had a dilemma. If she let go of the disk it would float away and another otter might steal it. If she took it down with her she wouldn’t be able to pick up the toy at the bottom as her paws would be full. What was her solution? Using a principle of Fluid Dynamics Ollie pressed the concave side of the disk onto the glass of the viewing window forcing air out from underneath creating a difference in air pressure. This produced a suction between the Frisbee and the smooth glass surface causing the disk to stick to the glass like a suction cup. Ollie was then able to dive down and pick up the toy while the Frisbee stayed safely secured to the glass. When she returned to the disk she then pried it off the glass and had both toys in her possession.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

Gidget was curious about what was under the drain cover in her holding pad. Problem was there were wrench tightened nuts on strong bolts holding it on. How do you get the bolts off without a tool? What was Gidget’s answer? Persistence! Gidget would dive down to the drain and while using just her paws she would try to lessen the torque on the nut ever so slightly. Over a day there wouldn’t be any evidence of progress. But over several days the torque of the nut would be lessened to the point that it would rotate on its threads. What amazes me is that otters know the old technician axiom “Lefty Loosey; Righty Tighty” and turned the nut in the correct direction. Eventually the nut would come off and she could then check out underneath the cover. This is why one of the duties of the Aquarium’s husbandry staff is to constantly check every single fastener in the exhibit and holding pad for otter tampering.

A LITTLE ACTING CAN REAP GREAT REWARDS

Brook loves shrimp and clams. However squid to her is like broccoli to a little kid even though it’s part of a balanced diet for otters. To get her to eat squid the trainers use a little positive reinforcement. When she eats a bit of squid she gets a reward of several pieces of clam and shrimp. Sort of like offering dessert if a kid eats his vegetables. Well Brook sometimes gets around this by a little sleight of hand. She’ll accept a piece of squid while floating on her back and then make like she’s about to eat it. Just before she takes a bite she does a barrel roll in the water as if she’s clearing the residual shrimp shells off her belly. When she completes her roll her paws are up as if saying I’ve eaten the squid now give me my reward. What the trainer didn’t see was that Brook had released the squid while upside down and was just pretending that she ate it. It’s about the time that the trainer throws a handful of clams into her paws that they’ll notice the squid sinking to the bottom and realize that they’ve been duped.

THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE

Male otters can be quite aggressive with female otters. Part of the otter mating ritual is for the male otter to bite and hold onto the nose of the female otter. Because of this when Gidget was first introduced to Charlie, then the Aquarium’s only male otter, it was under a closely supervised setting in the holding pad. Gidget, being a fearless young rambunctious otter at the time didn’t see Charlie as a potential aggressor. She saw him instead as a playmate. She immediately jumped on top of Charlie and playfully pawed and nudged him. It took Charlie completely by surprise. He was used to submissive females. This aggressive little female overwhelmed his natural tendencies. It got to the point where despite his instincts he mostly tried to keep his distances from Gidget. Gidget’s nose suffered no damage during the introduction period. Charlie on the other hand had to have his diet increased. All the attention from the playful young female was causing him to lose weight!

“WHAT IF?”

Watch an otter for very long and you get the feeling that they go through life with the question “What If?” constantly on their mind. When Ollie was still in the holding pad we use to give her muscles on the half shell to eat. Later we would go through the pad and retrieve all the empty shells. One day a staffer looked through every nook and cranny in the holding pad after a mussel session and couldn’t find a single shell. Where the heck did they go? Suspiciously outside the pad on the ground were shells. How did they get there? After the next mussel treat session the staffer pulled up a chair outside the pad and waited. It didn’t take long before shells started hitting the ground. Here’s what happened: When Ollie found herself with all the empty shells in the pool she thought to herself “How can I have fun with all these mussel shells?” What if I push them out that little hole between the upper deck and the tank? So like a basketball player Ollie would rise up out of the water repeatedly with a shell in her paw and dunk it through the hole. She actually made a game out of cleaning her pad by asking “What if?”

IT’S MORE FUN WHEN IT’S A CHALLENGE

The staff will sometimes give individual otters what they call a “Spa Day”. This is where an otter is given the run of the back holding area of the otter exhibit by themselves as a stress relieving day. Spread out on the floor are piles of ice with shrimp, clams and crab legs buried underneath. There are also PVC pipes with shrimp and clams inside and end caps screwed in on both ends. When Brook was given a Spa Day earlier this year she picked up a few treats from the ice but immediately turned her attention to the PVC pipes when she discovered them. She knew there were goodies inside and started exploring ways to reach them. First she tried banging it against the floor to no avail. Then she took it into the water and with a slightly different angle started banging it against the wall. This started to loosen the cap. After several impacts she then took her strong paws and started twisting the end of the pipe until finally the end cap came off and she could reach the food inside. Why would an otter go through all the trouble of trying to open the pipe when there were much more easily obtainable treats in the ice? For a thinking animal like an otter the challenge of figuring out how to open the pipe was far more fun than just picking through the ice like a buffet.

EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE THEY CAN FEEL RELAXED AROUND

There are certain staffers that individual otters tend to feel the most comfortable around. For Brook it is senior mammalogist Michele and assistant curator Rob who she’s worked with the longest. For Gidget on the other hand, at least on Saturdays, it’s me. I’ve been with the Furball since the day she arrived at the Aquarium of the Pacific as an abandoned pup. For her first two weeks I was there nearly every night caring for her on the overnight shifts and that’s where the bond started. (Check out the story of her growing up.) Gidget has gone through a couple of name changes over the years Furball-Maggie-Gidget but our relationship hasn’t changed. Years later it’s kind of nice to see the look of recognition in Gidget’s eyes when I enter the exhibit. We click well together and are both mostly relaxed during a session even when working on some potentially stressful husbandry behaviors. I’ve also done many Aquarium of the Pacific blogs and videos featuring her. This lead to an interesting comment that an Aquarium guest said to me recently after an otter show. “I read your blog. You’re the Furball’s ‘Otter Pop’. You were just feeding her!” Gidget’s Otter Pop? I guess in a way I am. LOVE THAT FURBALL!

Don't let the cute and innocent face fool you. Brook is a master at sleight of hand and has a talent for acting that can fool even the best staffer. | Hugh Ryono

With dexterous paws and nearly unlimited persistence an otter can dismantle just about any man-made object given enough time. | Hugh Ryono

Otters love to ask the question "What if?" in their mind. Here a young Ollie asks what if I push on this kennel door? | Hugh Ryono

Gidget and her "Otter Pop". Me with the otter that started my Adventures in Otter Space years ago. | Robin Riggs

Newsom

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 19:13 GMT

The Personable Penguin

When he first came to the Aquarium, Newsom was a shy young penguin who had yet to develop the head stripe that characterizes his species. Today after going through his first molt Newsom now has a stripe and a curiosity for people that adores himself to participants in Penguin Encounters and to VIPs and media folks on his field trips.

Hatched in San Francisco, Newsom tended to stick by the “Zoo” birds when he first arrived in Long Beach. Unlike the “Brazilians” who were very friendly to people and would immediately check out the staff visiting their holding pad, Newsom and the NorCal penguins would hang back content to just be around their own species.

Little by little Newsom’s curiosity about people would lead him closer and closer to the folks visiting his pad. I’d like to think that watching Avery, a very bold but good-natured penguin from Brazil, as he playfully interacted with the staff helped Newsom become more confident around people. In fact sometimes I think that Avery may have overdone his mentoring of Newsom.

Today Newsom is a very personable penguin who likes to hang around people and investigate his surroundings. Avery may have taught Newsom about how much fun it is to be around people however he forgot to teach him about personal space! Last Saturday after helping out on the last penguin feed of the day Newsom came by just to hang out with me as I sat in the exhibit. He proceeded to play with the whistle around my neck that I use while working with the pinnipeds and sea otters. When he grew tired of that Newsom then leaned his head against me like a dog seeking attention. When it came time to leave it took a while to tear the clingy penguin away from me. It was like having the attention of a huge aquatic black and white lorikeet from Lorikeet Forest that was insisting on hanging onto you. I can see why people enjoy this very friendly penguin so much during penguin encounters session.

Newsom before and after his recent molt. Note that he is now striped like an adult Magellanic Penguin. | Hugh Ryono

The oldest penguin in the exhibit, Henry, with one of the youngest, Newsom. Newsom is a very friendly penguin, even to other penguins. | Hugh Ryono

Newsom checks out aquarist DeAnn during a photo shoot from earlier this year. His mentor, Avery, is in the background. | Hugh Ryono

Newsom hangs out with volunteer marine mammal trainer Robin in the June Keyes Penguin Exhibit. | Hugh Ryono