OdySea Aquarium OdySea: New Developments

Further expansions are planned. Most notable for ZooChatters is the 2-3 acre rainforest house, Paradise Earth, which will have 4000-5000 free-flying birds. The 35-acre OdySea site already includes three zoological attractions: Dolphinaris, Butterfly Wonderland, and the aquarium.

OdySea in the Desert to add Aviary, Dinosaur Park and Hotel blooloop

 

The progress in this Phoenix suburb is astounding. OdySea Aquarium is already 200,000 square feet and 2 million gallons, making it one of the largest aquatic facilities in America in terms of sheer size. Butterfly Wonderland is probably the largest butterfly greenhouse in the nation, plus there is Dolphinaris and then many more plans upcoming in the next few years. Wow.

 

An African penguin chick hatched.

African penguin born at Scottsdale's OdySea Aquarium, more on the way

 

Last line of the article: the developer plans to build an attraction where people will spend two to three days. Here's why I don't think it will work. People do not vacation in Arizona to see aquariums and ice caves (another coming attraction) and dolphins in cement tubs in the desert. They vacation in Arizona to see cacti and scenery and to enjoy warm outdoor activities in the winter. I have not been to any of the attractions in the complex, so I can't judge their quality, but I think it's a very hard sell to expect people to stay more than one day.

 

On Saturday, January 18 (2020), the aquarium will hold its third annual conservation expo. Event is held outside in the courtyard and is free. There will be animal ambassadors from the aquarium and tables set up by numerous Phoenix area zoo and conservation groups (including Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix Herpetological Society, Southwest Wildlife, Liberty Wildlife, Heritage Park Zoo, and more).

 

4 sandbar shark pups were born at the aquarium.

4 rare sandbar shark babies born at OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale

 

Here is an article about the entire campus (all of which is new) that Odysea Aquarium is located in (there is also a second animal attraction called Butterfly Wonderland as well as an increasing number of non-animal attractions). The campus was called Odysea In The Desert (which was often confused with the actual Odysea Aquarium) so the new name for the campus is Arizona Boardwalk.
OdySea in the Desert changes name to Arizona Boardwalk, announces hotel and more attractions

(Personal opinion: I have never had a desire to visit this aquarium but now seeing the cheezy attractions the campus is adding I definitely will stay as far away as possible. Arizona has until now shied away from cheap tourist traps like Ripleys or mirror mazes and honestly I find this entire development to be an embarrassment to my state. Thankfully at least it's not in Tucson.)

 

3 white tip reef sharks were born at the aquarium.

OdySea Aquarium welcomes 3 Whitetip Reef Shark pups

 

An orange lobster was donated to the aquarium.

Rare orange lobster saved and donated to OdySea Aquarium

 

Any idea of the shark species? Clearly sandbar, sand tiger, and white tip, but otherwise?

 

Other news from 2021-2022:

On January 4th, 2021, the aquarium announced brand new exhibits for gila monsters and American alligator hatchlings.

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On February 6th, the aquarium announced that their (1.0) green sea turtle Boudreaux has passed away due to severe gastrointestinal disease.

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On March 8th, the aquarium announced that they have received a new executive director, Pal Palermo. She will oversee both the aquarium and butterfly house.

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On April 27th, the aquarium announced that their rotating aquarium ride "Voyager" has a new audio track.

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On May 14th, the aquarium announced and debuted a new exhibit for spotted garden eels near the exit of the Voyager ride.

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On July 15th, the aquarium announced that (0.0.3) sandbar sharks passed away due to unspecified reasons.

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On August 28th, the aquarium announced that a (0.0.1) cownose ray was born.

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On December 3rd, the aquarium announced that they have acquired a (0.0.1) blue-spot ribbontail ray and is now located in the ray touch pool.

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On January 14th, 2022, the aquarium announced the transfer of (2.0) African penguins named Tigger and Curious George to the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota.

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On March 29th, the aquarium announced that a (0.1) sand tiger shark named F1 internally passed away the week prior.

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On April 23rd, the aquarium announced that their (1.0) kneel-billed toucan named Ricky passed away due to a rapid decline in health.

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How many sea lions does Odysea have at the moment? They sent 4 females to Toledo, which is most (if not all) of their females, iirc. I’ve also been seeing exclusively bull sea lions on Ocean Voyager, so is Odysea now a sea lion bachelor facility (if that’s even a thing)?

 

The two adult and two juvenile seal lion's are moving to Toledo:
OdySea Aquarium - An exciting adventure began this summer... | By OdySea Aquarium | An exciting adventure began this summer for OdySea Aquarium’s sea lion Moms Skye & Penny, and their now juvenile pups, Storm & Phoenix. The fab four...

Does anyone know how many animals that leaves OdySea with?

 

On July 23rd, the zoo announced that they are in the finishing touches of their new sloth exhibit.

OdySea Aquarium - PIVOT… right to our NEW SLOTH... | By OdySea Aquarium | PIVOT… right to our NEW SLOTH EXHIBIT!!!! Thank goodness for "Friends" as it took a herculean effort by many to complete an extreme home makeover over...

 

According to the aquarium's Facebook, Tako the Giant Pacific Octopus has entered senescence and is nearing the end of her life.
First of all, Tako's a female? I distinctly remember seeing an article calling Tako a "he" when she first joined the aquarium. Second, Tako has laid a bunch of eggs, but they're all unfertilized. I know octopuses don't live long and females dedicate their last moments to tending to their eggs, but the way they address it hurts to read...
"Though Tako’s eggs are not fertile, she is unaware and will use the rest of her energy caring for her offspring."
Instincts, man... there's no benefit for her doing this, but she does it regardless because she doesn't know anything else.
On a less dramatic note, do female GPOs usually lay eggs in captivity (regardless of fertilization)? If the aquarium is making a big deal out of Tako's senescence, then I'm assuming this doesn't happen very often.

 

It's not unusual to not know the sex of octopus when they first arrive. And yes, females always lay eggs and then die. A lot of aquariums prefer not to publicize it and will move her off exhibit or black out the window. Seeing an animal starving itself to death isn't pleasant The general public isn't really going to understand that there's nothing that can be done, currently, to stop the act from occurring. OdySea has chosen to make a lot of posts about the senescence, which is unusual and interesting, as sad as it is.

I spoke with a docent at a small aquarium recently, and she said the facility had decided to stop keeping an octopus because having to deal with the death every year was so upsetting. They're trying to keep seahorses now, instead.

 

On August 6th, the aquarium announced that their Asian small-clawed otters are back on exhibit after their exhibit was renovated.

OdySea Aquarium - OTTER PARTY!!!! After a little... | By OdySea Aquarium | OTTER PARTY!!!! After a little staycation and some R & R at our 5-star behind the scenes "otter hotel," these adorable guys are BACK on exhibit in...

 

On August 17th, the aquarium announced that their African penguin exhibit has been renovated with the land area now being rockier than the previous flooring.

Waddle you think of the new and improved Penguin Point? | By OdySea Aquarium | Facebook