Showing posts with label Marine Mammal Exhibit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marine Mammal Exhibit. Show all posts

4/15/11

Welcome Back Fur Seals

Water is filling the fur seal exhibit as I write this. After the better part of six months the exhibit repairs are complete and plans are in motion to bring the fur seals back to New England Aquarium this week!



Baranov, Roxie and JD have remained on site in an area off of the main exhibit. Without the other three seals here keeping Baranov on his toes, it looks like he's been on a steady diet of junk food. In other words, he is huge! Actually, his diet has been the same, herring, capelin and squid, he's just wanted a lot more of it.


This is the time of year when male seals and sea lions put on a lot of weight so they don't have to waste precious energy finding fish during mating season. I understand that Isaac is looking more hefty and mature than when he left in October. We can't wait for Isaac, Cordova and Ursula to rejoin the group and get reacquainted with our visitors!


-Jenny
Posted by Jenny at 2:23 PM 1 comments
Labels: , ,

6/19/09

#131: The Wait Is Almost Over...

Ten months ago, we announced that our female fur seals would be moving to the New York Aquarium while we started building the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. The wait is almost over, so while Rochelle is in New York learning all about JD, she is also getting a chance to see Ursula and Cordova.

I went down this past weekend and snapped this picture of the two fur girls during a training session (Ursula is on the left and Cordova is on the right with Rochelle). They are both doing great and we are even more excited for the opening of the exhibit on July 1st. And for those of you that had visited these girls, have no fear, Cordova is still as vocal as ever!

subscribe



Posted by Erin at 8:30 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

6/10/09

#125: Waiting for Baranov ...

Erin checking out Baranov's chompers

The wait is almost over. We're all looking forward to the return of our fur seals and the opening of the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. The other day Erin and I took a trip down to the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration to reconnect with our old buddy Baranov, a male fur seal that stayed with us for a few months last year. He will be moving back to Beantown later this summer to live in our new exhibit. Seeing him again made me even more excited ... I can't wait 'til July!

-Justin

subscribe




Posted by Justin at 1:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

4/24/09

#107: Marine Mammal Exhibit Update

What's new at the construction site of the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center?






Well, this pile of dirt has made way for ...









A covered visitor path to the exhibit ...









Roof supports along haul out areas for the animals...











Support structures for rocky islands in the exhibit for the animals to enjoy ...








More of the visitor path with a view of the harbor to the left and the exhibit to the right ...











And another beautiful view from the exhibit to the harbor.







It's exciting to see the exhibit coming together and we're looking forward to welcoming the fur seals back!


subscribe




Posted by Jenny at 4:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , ,

1/21/09

#88: Exhibit Makeover Update 3

Our last exhibit construction update was on November 21, 2008 when the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center (MMC) looked like this:


It is now two months later, Kathy's elbow sports the same jacket and we have climbed to the roof of the aquarium for a "bird's eye view" :


The circular area is the shallow addition. Young seals spend time romping around in the shallows, and even the old timers may enjoy lolling around here.

This view includes the deeper section of the exhibit and the outline of a visitor path on the right:



Here we are looking north. The roof covers a behind the scenes are for the animals, a kitchen to prepare food for the seals and a place to store wet suits, dry clothes and trainers:



I'll post another update in a month or two. For now, we want to give a big shout out to the construction crew who keep smiling despite the bone chilling cold of the last few weeks. While it's possible that their faces have permanently frozen in that position, we'll just keep thinking they're looking forward to the day when animals, visitors and staff are enjoying the new exhibit.

~Jenny

subscribe




Posted by Jenny at 11:00 AM 2 comments
Labels: , ,

1/6/09

#80: New Year's Resolution


Now that 2009 is here, many of us are hoping to keep our New Year's resolutions. One popular resolution is to be healthier, either by quitting a bad habit or trying to eat better. The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is scheduled to open this year so fitness is on the minds of many Aquarium staff. The animal training staff is no exception and we vowed to be more active in 2009. If we just did some of the behaviors that the seals do everyday, we would be making a good start. So here are a few examples of some seal behaviors that we thought we would try.

Smoke's inverted bottling behavior looks very similar to Justin's headstand...




... and when Rochelle sits down to give Amelia the signal, they can do sit-ups together!



Of course, there's nothing like dancing to get everyone moving!

So what do you like to do to stay active? Be sure to check back to see what new activities we are trying out and how the new exhibit is coming along.
Happy New Year!

-Erin

subscribe



Posted by Erin at 6:00 AM 3 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

11/21/08

#67: Exhibit Makeover Update 2

With the demolition finished, the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is beginning to take shape.





This is a view from the shallow area into the deep. The dirt in the foreground will become a shallow area for the animals to splash, slide around in or just relax. Glass panels will allow you to come almost nose to nose with the animals.









This is Kathy, the curator of the Marine Mammal Department. We'll take this same picture each month to see what she's looking at as time goes by.









~ Jenny

subscribe



Posted by Jenny at 3:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: , ,

11/3/08

#63: New Marine Mammal Center Update!

Kaboom!

I recently had a house full of family and friends, including two brothers; a three year old and a nine month old. The younger brother would grin and stare as his big brother stacked the small, wooden blocks higher and higher. Then, sporting a mischievous squint, the older boy would whirl his arms through the column of blocks. The brothers shrieked with delight as the blocks crashed to the floor.

Watching the demolition of our old pinniped exhibit makes me wonder if the crew members get to feel like kids again. The current demolition phase is making way for the construction of our New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. Right now, the exhibit site is all about demolition.




This picture shows the construction, make that the destruction site a couple of days ago. Notice that the dumpster has a beautiful harbor view. Once the exhibit is completed, our seals and visitors will have the same view, minus the dumpster.












Here we see the same area after the rubble removal.














This machine is used to hammer and break concrete. I don't know what it's called, but I'll bet a certain three year old knows.







That's all for today, but be sure to check back for the next installment of "Extreme Exhibit Makeover."

~ Jenny

subscribe



Posted by NEAQ at 2:02 PM 1 comments
Labels: , , ,

10/14/08

#54: Groundbreaking!

Chacoda with his construction gear. Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe.


We had an official ground breaking ceremony last Thursday for the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. It was a great celebration of all the hard work put in to make a new exhibit a reality. See more pictures, watch video and get the scoop on the new exhibit here. We'll keep you updated on the exhibit's progress.

subscribe



Posted by NEAQ at 10:47 AM 3 comments
Labels: , , ,

8/26/08

#40: Fur Seals Are Moving!



By this time next week, the fur seals will no longer be at the New England Aquarium...for a little while at least. Construction for the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center is set to start soon with the hopes that it will be open for next summer. So in the meantime, the fur seals will head out of town. Baranov, our temporary summer resident, will be returning to the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, while the females, Chainsaw, Cordova, and Ursula will head to the New York Aquarium. While we will all miss them, we are looking forward to working with them again in the new exhibit. Stay tuned - we will be posting blogs on what it takes to move these seals. And for those of you who haven't been in to see the seals recently, buy your tickets now. See you soon!

Erin

subscribe



Posted by Erin at 7:52 AM 7 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)