Saying hi to Tino the giant pacific octopus (still young)
The northern anchovy ‘yawns’ as it eats because it’s opening its mouth and eating everything
I think I’ll keep updating this thread to share the joy I see whenever I am onsite (which is going to be, often, coz I need this)
I learned that the jellies have circular tanks because.. they get stuck in corners
@skinnylatte
At the age of 5 or so, my daughter spent a solid 45 minutes petting the moon jellies at the aquarium in Duluth. The staff there were so good with her: teaching her how to touch them without hurting them, encouraging her curiosity. Magic.
@inthehands wonderful! I love that everyone has a lovely story like this
@skinnylatte well now I want a ‘pitch bucket’ full of chum
Sticking my phone through the holes of a fence. And finding a (I think) Brandt’s cormorant colony
I get to sea the open sea exhibit before we open! A sure way to know we haven’t opened is there are bubbles in the water
The Monterey bay aquarium stands on the grounds of a former sardine cannery. Due to overfishing, the sardine population collapsed. When I heard about this I thought of the Silicon Valley office parks 50 miles north, engaged in modern extractive exploitation without ever giving back.
The recovery of the bay, the work of the aquarium and the marine national park status has completely changed the environment
Attending a staff-only internal guitar concert in the open sea exhibit this morning
You can watch some live cams here (of the animals, not the concert)
Move over, JK ‘TERFY’ Rowling.
Here’s ’Hairy Otter’, written by (probably) JK Owl
My friends are asking if I’m involved in any of the fun social media and I’m like nope but I love that team and I’m trying to meet all of them
(Monterey Bay is the GOAT: Greatest Ocean of all Time)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCZ-RrjIwQy/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
The otter people didn’t let me take my phone to the behind the scenes otter feeding, but promised to send me photos after so
#Marine #Mammals #Otters #OttersOfMastodon #OttersOfTheFediverse
At work they got us to head out to connect with the ocean. Honestly can’t believe I get to be here
Also not lost on me that this very beach was yet another Chinese settlement that was destroyed by ‘fire’ in 1906
Someone just told me ‘California sheephead transition from female to male, AND conjure a sphere of mucus to protect them when they sleep’
Maybe it shows I spend a lot of time looking at jellyfish but I got in this morning and was like NEW JELLY
@skinnylatte I love your posts about your new job so much
@skinnylatte or the ‘poorly poached egg’, as my wife dubbed it. One of my favorites! Though I think the gooseberry comb jelly, and the unnamed one that looks like a red gooseberry are the top of my list.
Some photos of the outside
Many of my days in Monterey kick off here. It’s the coffee spot near work I tend to have breakfast meetings at, and also the mid point stop on my bike ride there.
View from an office window (and I work in one of the ‘boring’ office buildings, not at the main aquarium). They all have pretty good views I think
The kelp forest exhibit says something like ‘you always know it’s a rockfish when it’s just laying there not moving’
Same
My wife is in town (very rare!) so we took a nice evening stroll from the aquarium to the Sandbar
Bloody-belly comb jelly. Can’t believe I get to see this at work
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/bloodybelly-comb-jelly