Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific was the place to be on Black Friday, as kids were out of school, the aquarium was previewing its winter programming and a sizable contingent opted out of the mall and instead went for a day of aquatic education and fun. See http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/aquarium_holidays/ to learn when you can see Santa scuba dive, observe animal enrichment activities with a Christmas twist, and more this holiday season.
The Aquarium of the Pacific’s penguins ring in the holiday season. The aquarium has a number of special shows and features going on now through Christmas. See http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/aquarium_holidays/ to be part of the fun. Photos by Melody Li.Two penguins, “Admiral Fancypants” and “Cleopatra,” were made available for photo ops and some brief observation from a distance while closely monitored by aquarium staff.One of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s many small hammerhead sharks.A ray glides by at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Black Friday.The divers explained that practically any animal can be trained, even the beautiful spotted eagle ray, which is conditioned through positive reinforcement to know that the purple cone contains its food. When it approaches calmly, it receives handfuls of whole clams. If a veterinarian needs to do a check-up, the purple cone is used as well, so the ray knows to be calm, and when the exam is complete, it will receive a reward.Miked up scuba divers hopped in the aquarium’s biggest tank to feed and inspect some of the fish, while talking the gathered crowd through the process.One of the aquarium’s several resident marine mammals takes a dive below the surface after participating in an enrichment activity topside, which included a romp around in some red and green dyed snow berms.The Aquarium of the Pacific’s multitudes of clownfish were active on Black Friday.
