Posted by kelphead on December 15, 1999 at 01:27:45:
In Reply to: Re: long beach aquarium of the pacific posted by Jason on December 14, 1999 at 19:42:18:
yeah, i understand what you mean.
the seals, sea lions, and sea otters all
came from rescue/rehab centers. well, that's
not true for our 14yr old male sea lion--he was
used as entertainment at "knott's berry farm" and
they no longer needed him after they cancelled the
show, so now he is 'retired' at the aquarium. all
the other mammals, though, came from rescue centers
and are deemed unreleasable. ie, the seals and one
sea lion have cataracts or are blind and the sea otters
were orphaned as pups and lack necessary skills to
ensure their survival. even the sea birds next to
the sea turtle habitat are flightless birds for one
reason or another, rescued and now living at the
aquarium.
all other animals either came from other aquariums
(or even zoos) while the rest were, of course,
taken from the ocean. i'm aware of the 'take
permit' that the aquarium had for off the catalina
coast. there was also a recent collection trip
to a local tidepool--hey, schoolkids do it too, right?
= : )
i do understand the sentiments from others, but
at the same time, why not allow an educational
facility such as the 'lbaop' to carefully remove
marine wildlife and to display them for the
enlightenment of others? it's not like the animals
are being cruelly exploited--they get restaurant
quality food when homeless people go hungry every
night.
there was only one exhibit in the aq that had
live coral. the rest of it in the 'arco tropical
reef' habitat is all fake. but currently the aq
has been experimenting w/cultivating coral (that's
why the 'tropical reef touch tank' is no longer a
touch tank) which they hope to use for the following:
a) research
b) to replace their fake stuff
c) to share w/other aquariums
also, the giant sea bass in the 'blue cavern' habitat
have spawned sooooo many times and the aquarists have
been trying to save as many fish fry as possible
to, again, share w/other institutions. (actually,
the sea bass seem to be spawning out of season
for unknown reasons.)
in other words, the 'lbaop' is trying to be self-sufficient
ultimately to be able to raise its own marine life
and to share/trade w/other institutions. apparently,
that's how zoos currently operate.
anyway, hope this helped to answer your q, but
if not, try asking again or just contact the
aq directly and they will be more than happy
to cover the topic w/you.
= : )
kelphead.