The National Aquarium is celebrating a birthday today: Foster, one of our youngest Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, born at the Aquarium on September 9, 2007, is 5 years old today!
Guests can recognize Foster by his light coloring and big eyes.
About Foster
Name meaning: Foster was given his name due to his very unique upbringing. Because Jade was a first-time mother, experienced moms Shiloh and Chesapeake helped her raise him. All three females nursed Foster when he was a baby.
Gender: Male Weight: 270 pounds
Foster and his best friend Beau love to play with bubbles!
Family Tree: Son of Jade (dam) and Sebastian (sire) How to Recognize: Guests can recognize Foster by his light coloring. He also has big, beautiful eyes and a slight underbite, much like his mom Jade.
Trainer’s Note: Even though he’s one of our youngest dolphins, Foster has a big appetite. He eats about 21 pounds of fish per day!
If you can’t make it to the National Aquarium, Baltimore, today, leave your birthday wishes for Foster in the comments section below!
We cannot wait for our new exhibit, Blacktip Reef, to open in summer of 2013! This coral-filled exhibit, replicating an Indo-Pacific ocean habitat, will feature 15 exciting species including blacktip reef sharks, reticulated whiptail rays, and ornate wobbegong sharks. It will also be the new home for some of our most beloved animals, including our 400-pound green sea turtle Calypso, and zebra sharks Zeke and Zoe. Guests will be able to experience this lively reef from many vantage points, including a new floor-to-ceiling pop-out viewing window that allows you to virtually step inside the exhibit.
It’s a long journey to opening day. Between animal transports, exhibit demolition, new construction, and habitat fabrication, as well as the acquisition of new animals, we’ll have a lot to update you on leading up to next summer. As we continue to build the future home of Blacktip Reef,stay tuned to learn about new changes here on our WATERblog!
The past few weeks have been extremely busy for teams all over the Aquarium! Our Animal Care staff worked diligently to move and relocate all the animals that had lived in the Wings in the Water exhibit. Some of these animals moved to new homes within the Aquarium, and some joined new families at Georgia Aquarium and Ripley’s Aquarium.
National Aquarium staff worked speedily to move animals. Photo courtesy of John Soule
Three of our guest favorites, Calypso, Zeke, and Zoe, made one of the last moves from the exhibit this week.
National Aquarium divers eased Calypso into a large lift with tasty fish treats. Photo courtesy of John Soule
But they haven’t traveled far! The temporary home for these animals is in one of our behind-the-scenes animal care areas, where they will be enjoying a little “vacation” with some of their other fish friends.
It takes a big team to move a big turtle like Calypso!
Now that the animals have been removed and the water has been drained, some of the bigger construction components have begun. You can see some of our team building scaffolding to prepare for even more.
Watch this video to learn more about our recent changes:
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!
New baby screaming piha!
We have a new baby screaming piha in our Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit!
Screaming piha chick
Our screaming piha chick is the first to be born in captivity in North America. After a month of patient waiting by our rain forest aviculturists and exhibit curators, the baby chick hatched at the end of July. Our staff is very excited to be able to share the news of this successful birth!
Very little is known about the biology of the screaming piha when it comes to reproduction, and we hope to learn and share with others in the community as much as we can about these Amazonian birds.
Laying eggs can be difficult for pihas due to their poor nest-building skills. They create tiny nests. Ornithologist (the branch of zoology that studies birds) Alexander Skutch once described a piha nest as being “the most meager arboreal nest that I had seen.” Our female’s nest was about 2 inches by 2 inches and was constructed of curling vines from around our habitat. To help support the structure of the nest, our staff added two additional branches. Soon the female began to sit on her nest and after a couple of days we had our first spotting of a light brown, perfectly camouflaged egg!
In the wild, camouflage is an essential part of the piha’s survival. As a single parent, the female piha often has to leave to gather food while the chick relies completely on camouflage to stay safe in the nest. Through this hatching, we’ve learned that piha chicks lay motionless with their wings at their side while the mother is gone. The chick doesn’t peep or beg (behaviors we traditionally associate with baby birds), so as to not give away its location to any predators.
Screaming piha chick camouflaging itself
In the last month, our baby piha chick has grown tremendously. Thanks to a great mom, the chick has had plenty to eat and is completely feathered. Our new family is currently under the observation of our staff and is not on display yet in our Rain Forest exhibit, but we can’t wait for you to meet our new addition!
This week we’re celebrating our 31st anniversary at National Aquarium, Baltimore, and we want you to join the fun!
Monday, August 6: Is your birthday also in August? On August 6, anyone who has an August birthday gets in FREE! Must present identification at the onsite ticket center to verify birthday. Plus, enjoy a free piece of birthday cake in the Aquarium’s Harbor Market Kitchen (while supplies last).
Tuesday, August 7: Receive half-price child’s admission with purchase of regular adult admission (onsite only). Kids can also enjoy a free piece of birthday cake in the Aquarium’s Harbor Market Kitchen (while supplies last).
Wednesday, August 8: Meet Nickelodeon’s The Backyardigans! They’ll make a special appearance from 10 a.m.–2 p.m., and the first 200 guests will receive a free photo. We’ll also have fun games and crafts going on all day. Plus, enjoy a free piece of birthday cake in the Aquarium’s Harbor Market Kitchen (while supplies last).
Thursday, August 9: Catch a FREE 4D Immersion Film with purchase of admission ticket. For online ticket purchases, use promo code FREE4D. (Limited availability; first come, first served). Plus, enjoy a free piece of birthday cake in the Aquarium’s Harbor Market Kitchen (while supplies last).
All activities are free with admission. Tickets can be purchased at aqua.org.
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!
Bonnethead Sharks in New Home
Our two bonnethead sharks have moved from Wings in the Water to their new home in our Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit.
This move is due to preparations for our new exhibit, BlacktipReef, opening in summer 2013. The new exhibit will be a vibrant new habitat replicating a salt-water Indo-Pacific ocean habitat featuring new animals including blacktip reef sharks, reticulated whiptail rays, and ornate wobbegong sharks! Click here to find out more about Blacktip Reef.
Golden Lion Tamarins
Our golden lion tamarin monkeys have been taken off exhibit for the time being as a precautionary measure due to nesting birds in the exhibit. Don’t worry, they’ll be back!
We have so many amazing animals in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit — it’s a great time to see some of them during your visit. Click here to learn more about some of the animals!
Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!
