Let’s Make Baltimore the Largest Community Wildlife Habitat along the Chesapeake Bay!

For years, Baltimore has been known as “Birdland” and now, thanks to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the National Aquarium, it’s official. Today, First Lady of Maryland Katie O’Malley joined leaders from NWF, National Aquarium and city officials to launch a program aimed at greening city streets, backyards, schools and places of worship.

First Lady Katie O’Malley speaking about the importance of “greening” Baltimore.

“We believe that your backyard can be a place for exploring and unleashing children’s curiosity,” said Hilary Harp Falk, Regional Executive Director for National Wildlife Federation.  “Baltimore has always been a city for the birds, and we intend to work with partners in the City to create beautiful places which will offer opportunities to learn, connect and play.”

By greening the city for birds, butterflies and other wildlife, residents of Baltimore will also help to improve both air and water quality for humans. The more native plantings that are used to attract wildlife, the greater potential the city has of reaching its Healthy Harbor goals and helping to clean the Chesapeake Bay.

“As a conservation organization it is our goal to inspire people to do their part, starting here in our backyard of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay,” said John Racanelli, National Aquarium CEO. “We are dedicated to a Healthy Harbor and we believe that can happen if we all get involved in the greening of our city.”

Did you know? Our Waterfront park is a certified wildlife habitat!

Community Wildlife Habitat certification will bring many organizations and individuals together to work on a common vision, and, when successful, Baltimore will achieve certification for more than 600 homes, 10 parks, and 6 schools and be recognized as one of the 60+ Community Wildlife Habitats nationwide!

In celebration of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife month in May, people across the country – from bird watchers to butterfly lovers – are joining the residents of Baltimore in transforming their gardens into havens for wildlife.  The National Wildlife Federation has also pledged to plant a tree for every Certified Wildlife Habitat during the month of May to honor its garden supporters! 

Animal Updates – March 22

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Lined Seahorses

We have two new lined seahorses in our Surviving Through Adaptation exhibit – a male named Kuda (Malaysian for “seahorse”) and a female named Monroe!

Lined Seahorse at National Aquarium, Baltimore
Photo courtesy of Michael Bentley

Did you know? This species of seahorse can actually be found in the Chesapeake Bay! Lined seahorses can vary drastically in both coloration and ornamentation.  They can range from a yellowish color all the way down the spectrum to nearly black.  Some may have intricate ornamentation on their backs and their heads.  Lined seahorses can also change color slightly to match their surroundings!

Golden Lion Tamarins

Our golden lion tamarins, found in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit, have been spending more time in one of the mahogany trees situated closer to ground level, giving visitors some great opportunities to see them up close!

Check out this GREAT photo from one of our recent visitors, Instagram user kfollm!

Next time you’re up in the rain forest, be sure to look up and hopefully spot one of these amazing animals!

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Animal Update – February 22

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community, so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

American bullfrogs in our Maryland: Mountains to the Sea exhibit!

There are three new male bullfrogs in the Allegheny Streams gallery.

Did you know? The bullfrog is the largest native frog species in North America!

Breeding males emit a deep bass booming call, sounding like “roo-roo-room” or “jug-a-rum,” that can be heard over a distance of more than half a mile.

During the long spring and summer breeding season, males aggressively defend territory, wrestling fiercely with rival males and attempting to mate with as many females as possible.

In Maryland, tadpoles over-winter and transform into frogs during the following summer, depending on food availability and water temperature. In the southern parts of the bullfrog’s range, metamorphosis can occur in as few as 79 days, while in the colder northern areas, metamorphosis can take more than three years.

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Thoughtful Thursdays: Inspiring Conservation in Future Generations

This week, National Aquarium is co-hosting the 33rd annual International Sea Turtle Symposium, which has brought together more than 1,000 scientists and conservationists from over 75 countries to discuss collaborative efforts to save all seven species of endangered sea turtle.

Currently, turtle populations worldwide are in dramatic decline due to issues like habitat destruction, cold-stunning, debris entanglement, incidental capture in commercial and recreational fishing.  The symposium is a tool to share knowledge and encourage discussion around sea turtles in our local community and how we create and/or affect these issues. This meeting provides Baltimore and the state of Maryland with a rare opportunity to participate in an international dialogue and gain exposure to new pathways in conservation science.

General Curator Jack Cover was on hand during the Aquarium’s “Welcome Social” for symposium participants to talk about the many species of turtle we have in our collection.

The theme of the symposium is “connections” and throughout the week, they hope to create connections not only with fellow researchers and conference attendees but also with the community and local students.

To encourage involvement, the symposium is providing teacher and educator workshops, live streaming of special sessions to local schools and universities as well as a sea turtle art contest in Baltimore City schools.

The art contest in particular is a powerful way to reach students and encourage them to express their love for sea turtles. Further, it presents an innovative avenue to reinforce the community’s need to respect and save these majestic creatures. Each school submitted art pieces in the hopes of winning an opportunity to learn more about the importance of turtles at special expert Q&A sessions at the symposium. The following local schools have their art featured at the symposium:

• St. Demetrius Bilingual Day School
• Poolesville High School
• South River High School
• Furman Templeton Prep
• Dr. Rayner Browne Academy
• Friends Meeting School

One local school in particular, St. Demetrius Bilingual Day School, took this art project a step further! Students did a month-long science unit on sea turtles leading up to the week of the event. During their visit to the symposium, students had lunch with biologists and conservationists and even took a trip to the Aquarium!

After learning even more about sea turtles, 4th and 5th grade classes at St. Demetrius were inspired to actually adopt a turtle at the Aquarium through our Aquadopt program!

Want to learn more about the dialogue happening at the symposium or the Aquarium’s efforts to save sea turtles? Leave us your questions in the comments section!

You can also join the conservation on Twitter (for symposium-specific news, follow the hashtags #ISTS33 and #ISTS2013).

Baltimore Wins AGAIN in the #SuperFISHBowl

The competition this weekend between Baltimore and San Francisco was fierce both on the field and in the water, as National Aquarium and California Academy of Sciences went head-to-head in the Super FISH Bowl!

The task for each team was simple: ask their respective communities to show support by “liking” the official contest photo on each organization’s Facebook page. Each “like” equated to a $1 donation (provided by an anonymous donor) to the winning city’s animal care and conservation efforts.

In addition to rallying the community, we had a lot of fun drafting our fantasy “fishball” team and stacking our “players” up against the opposition!

In the end, both competitions were CLOSE. It was certainly a tough fight from deserving teams!

We would like to sincerely thank and congratulate California Academy of Sciences on a great Super FISH Bowl. The beauty of our competition is that either outcome means a win for ocean conservation!

We would also like to thank our amazing community for rallying in support of the Aquarium, with YOUR help we were able to raise $1,310 for our animal rescue program! 

Click here to learn more about National Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program!