Blog

Wildfires, smoke and air quality are top of mind for many of us in the western U.S., and our hearts go out to those who have been directly impacted by the fires. All is safe at the Seattle Aquarium but, due to very poor air quality in our region, we’ve been closed to the public since last Friday afternoon to help protect the health of our guests, staff, and volunteers.

How does poor air quality affect the animals in our care? It depends on the species as well as individual underlying health conditions, if any. “Fish and many aquatic invertebrates do their gas exchange across gills—and smoke and ash shouldn’t have any direct impact on the quality of our water,” explains Senior Veterinarian Dr. Caitlin Hadfield.

We recently announced the heartbreaking and unexpected loss of our eight-year-old male northern fur seal, Leu. Our deepest thanks to everyone who has shared condolences and memories with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We hope you’ll enjoy the memorial video below.

We also wanted to provide an update on what we understand so far about the cause of Leu’s death. As we shared in our previous blog post, Seattle Aquarium animal care staff discovered Leu unresponsive in his habitat early in the morning on August 26. They quickly initiated our rescue protocol and applied CPR. Despite their best efforts, Leu couldn’t be revived.

There are pregnant orca moms in all three of the endangered southern resident pods—J, K and L!

These orcas are at their lowest population in over three decades. New calves would be incredibly special in their own rights, but also essential to reverse the downward population trend.

Dr. Holly Fearnbach of the nonprofit SR3 and Dr. John Durban of Southall Environmental Associates discovered these pregnancies this summer. They use aerial images to study individual orcas’ body conditions over time.

Pregnancies are very good news, and we are celebrating. But we’re also crossing our fingers because the risks are very high.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved northern fur seal, Leu.

Seattle Aquarium animal care staff discovered Leu unresponsive in his habitat early in the morning on August 26. A rescue protocol was quickly initiated and CPR applied. “The Aquarium’s professional animal care team were vigorous in their response, following the established protocol for just this type of event,” says Seattle Aquarium Director of Life Sciences Grant Abel. Despite their best efforts, Leu couldn’t be revived.

Last Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared the way for permitting a huge mine at the headwaters of two major rivers that feed into Bristol Bay, Alaska—home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and one of the most prolific Chinook salmon runs.

The Canadian-owned Pebble Limited Partnership (“Pebble”) would extract gold, copper and molybdenum—materials of extremely high value, found in everyday items such as seatbelts, cell phones and electrical wires—through a new open pit mine.

The Seattle Aquarium strongly opposes the Bristol Bay Pebble Mine. Healthy oceans, fishing and Indigenous communities and local economies depend on wild and clean rivers and waterways. These will all be harmed if the Pebble Mine is developed.

There’s never been a better time to visit the Seattle Aquarium and explore the waterfront—summer’s in full swing, which usually brings throngs of tourists to the neighborhood, but not during this unprecedented year! There’s plenty of space to maintain distance as you stroll the wide sidewalk along Alaskan Way, taking in amazing views of Elliott Bay and enjoying the sights and sounds of Seattle’s historic waterfront.

No, Leu and Flaherty aren’t prepping to run their first 5k—but, like many of the animals at the Seattle Aquarium, they regularly participate in training that benefits them in a variety of ways. We’ll tell you all about it—but first, some background on the two northern fur seals in our care, who we fondly refer to as “the boys.”

In honor of Shark and Ray Awareness Day (today!), we’re bringing you a recap of the Northeast Pacific Shark Symposium 4, written by our own Curator of Conservation Research Dr. Shawn Larson. Take it away, Shawn!

March 5-7, 2020, just before COVID-19 shut down most large gatherings around the world, over 100 people from the greater West American shark community met for three days in La Paz, Mexico to convene the Northeast Pacific Shark Symposium 4.

Here in the Puget Sound region, we’re so fortunate to have miles of beaches to explore while maintaining the physical distancing that protects everyone’s health. And, better yet, we’ve got some upcoming low-tide days that will offer the perfect opportunity to explore the intertidal zone—the strip of land between high and low tide—to discover the amazing creatures that live there.

We can all feel it: summer is in the air! And, luckily for us here in the Puget Sound region, we can still go out and enjoy our amazing local shorelines while staying safe and maintaining social distancing.

But did you know you can also help the animals at the beach stay safe while you’re exploring? A little extra care will go a long way, and make a big difference for the multitude of creatures that are often literally below your feet!

Here’s our lucky seven list of top tips for practicing good beach etiquette.

The Seattle Aquarium is tremendously fortunate to have an amazing pool of dedicated volunteers—including roughly 150 Youth Ocean Advocates (YOAs) who share their passion by educating Aquarium visitors, leading beach cleanups, participating in tree-planting events, raising money for organizations working on behalf of the marine environment, and more.

In honor of World Oceans Day, we’re happy to share a guest blog written by YOA Aviv Pinker, who shares his expertise on salmon. Take it away, Aviv!

We’re closing out Tide Pool Week with some beautiful, summery weather—the perfect time to head to a local beach and explore some of the amazing animals we’ve been highlighting! Check out our library of animal fact sheets for more details about the birds, fish and invertebrates you might see on your next trip to the beach. And, before you tackle our trivia below, you might want to take a close look at the fact sheets for tide pool ecosystems, barnacles and moon jellies (just saying!).