National Aquarium in Baltimore National Aquarium, Baltimore Updates and Events

The aquarium is culturing Lion's Mane Jelly at their lab and some should be on display in the August time period. Cannonball jelly polyps were received from MBA and the aquarium is trying to see if they can eventually put those on display as well. Flower hat jellies are a maybe. Gray-headed flying fox is temporarily off display and I saw two Northern Australian Snapping Turtles doing some hanky-panky.

 

Four bicolor damselfish have been added to the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit. National Aquarium | Animal Update: Bicolor Damselfish

 

The National Aquarium's strategic master plan from Studio Gang Architects. While it's all conceptual, plans include a new entrance, water front park, redesigned guest circulation system, an overall campus unification concept, as well as the redevelopment of Pier 4 which will include a theater, restaurant, behind the scenes food kitchen for animal programs, and a Chesapeake Bay Watershed immersive/educational exhibit.

Studio Gang ? National Aquarium Strategic Master Plan

 

Pier 4 is where Dolphin Discovery is located...so does that mean no more dolphins in the future?

 

The actual official decision, or more likely official public announcement is still forthcoming, but I would imagine that, yes, there will be no more dolphins at the Aquarium. I'd also imagine plans are still being developed for a National Dolphin Sanctuary. I'm not privy to that information and it hasn't been shared, so I can't say for sure.

 

Flower hat jellies are now on display: National Aquarium | Animal Update: New Jellies on Exhibit

Hopefully I'll get to see them before they aren't anymore.

 

National Aquarium will move dolphins to a sanctuary by 2020 - Baltimore Sun

 

See separate thread for background
http://www.zoochat.com/22/ending-dolphin-exhibit-365628/

 

They should be ashamed of themselves.

 

National Aquarium | Living Seashore Wins Top Honors!

Living Seashore received Top Honors for outstanding design by the AZA. Personally I don't think it's all that. NAIB is starting to rack up AZA awards.

 

And they're seemingly all about offering less and less these days.

 

National Aquarium | Sheldon is Ready for Release!
Presumably another will come to the aquarium in his place. I have a few photos of him I'll post if I ever get around to it.

 

The aquarium's largest humphead wrasse, a male named Tang, passed away overnight. He was estimated to be 15-20 years old and came to the facility in 2012. Over the last few days, he had refused food. A juvenile of the same species is still on exhibit in Blacktip Reef.

 

National Aquarium | Loggerhead Update: We Have a New Hatchling!

 

Three cockatiels hatched.

National Aquarium | Animal Update: Cockatiels Chicks

 

As of my visit today, it has finally happened!

 

Nani the dolphin has passed away.

National Aquarium | Mourning the Loss of Nani

 

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-scientists-probe-dolphin-intelligence-interactive.html

To study dolphin intelligence, the National Aquarium has set up a giant touchpad that the dolphins can interact with. They're doing this for research, but for years I've been thinking that it would be cool to see this kind of thing used for enrichment, so it would be cool if they keep it around for a while, ha ha.

 

National Aquarium | Animal Update: Dusky Pipefish
I saw this exhibit on my visit last week, but couldn't get a photo due to the many people crowding around it. It was formerly for sea horses, but has since been renovated.

The chambered nautilus exhibit has now been emptied of nautilus, and holds deep-sea isopods.

Three green honeycreepers have been added to the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit. It now has a very impressive species list regarding birds, including: screaming piha, yellow-bellied grosbeak, scarlet ibis, boat-billed heron, green-and-gold tanager, bay-headed tanager, sunbittern, paradise tanager, blue-crowned motmot, white-tailed trogon, and the rotating parrots.

 

Are the flying foxes back on exhibit?