I always look forward to my annual trip to Monterey. It means I get to spend time with my friends and their chocolate lab in a beautiful place…
…and I get to go behind the scenes at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!
One of Erin's responsibilities is to feed the seven gill sharks (she's the one in the pink fins). It's a two person job: one person feeds the shark with vitamin-infused salmon using an alligator clip while the other keeps other hungry fish away.
Feeding a cleverly camouflaged angel shark.
Some species, like the bat ray, are target trained. This allows the aquarists to monitor how much the bat rays eat because, as bottom feeders, they cannot successfully compete with the other aggressive, fast swimming fish.
Some marine life are obligate swimmers, meaning they must continually swim to survive, while others are non-obligate. Leopard sharks fall into the second category and can be seen lying still. This is because they have muscles that let them to pump water over their gills so they can receive fresh oxygen. Below, a leopard shark lies on the bottom while another leopard shark and a seven gill shark swim by.
The same exhibit viewed from above.
The Open Sea is a massive exhibit. The tank holds one million gallons of water and several varieties of marine life including tuna, dolphin fish (also known as mahi mahi), green turtles, hammerhead sharks, and sardines, just to name a few. I got to watch a feeding from behind the scenes.
Feeding time for the African Black Footed penguins.
There's been a fascinating seahorse exhibit for several months.
The leafy seahorse really lives up to its name!
They eat small shrimp and, almost immediately after each bite, you can see a quick puff cloud shoot out from the back of their heads which is them secreting the oil from the shrimp.
Jellyfish are mesmerizing to watch. A jellyfish swims by squeezing its bell (the main body) to propel itself forward.
Spotted jellyfish.
A flamboyant cuddle fish.
I got to watch the sea otters feed and train. Before eating, Rosa practiced her training. She had to retrieve a toy and then put it in the bucket. The three otters are fed their clams simultaneously by three trainers so the otters don't try to compete with each other for food.
