Since its founding in 1984, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has become among the world’s most famous aquariums. Each year, the attendance would reach 1.8 million. It stores 35,000 plants and animals from 623 different species. Located on the site previously occupied by a sardine cannery, the MBA lies on the Cannery Row on the Pacific Ocean.
Every day, except December 25, the MBA is open for public viewing. Touring the entire aquarium takes about 3 hours to complete. Among its many exhibits, two of them stand out, namely the. Ocean’s Edge Wing and the Outer Bay wing.
In Ocean’s Edge Wing, you would see its 10 meter high and 1.3 million liter tank for viewing the coastal marine life in California. In the tank is the world’s first giant Kelp conserved alive. It has a wave machine on top of the tank to make the kelp absorb the nutrients from surrounding water, while permitting the sunlight to pass through the tank top, and circulating the raw seawater from the Bay.
In the Outer Bay Wing, you would certainly enjoy one of the world’s biggest single pane windows, from where you can have a fantastic view of stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters and other hundreds of other native marine creatures. The viewing can be done from above and below the waterline. The Monterey Bay Aquarium uses a Kreisel tank that creates a circular flow to make the jellyfish suspended and supported. You can have the view of the Kelp forest from different levels in the building.
Just in 1996, the MBA opened the new Outer Bay Wing to exhibit the ecology of the Outer bay which includes the 3000 anchovies that swim against inside the toroidal tank. Then in 2004, it begins exhibit of its first great white shark. However, it was released after 198 days. MBA exhibited its second shark on August 31, 2006, but which was released in 2007 after he grew into 6 foot and five inches at 171 pounds from 5 foot 8 inches at 103 pounds on its capture.
Its third exhibit of shark was on August 2007: A young male shark at 4 feet and 9 inches and weighing 67 ½ pounds. Currently it is housed in a holding pen off Malibu for feeding, observation and navigation. In September 2008, its fourth shark was recorded but was shortly released into the wild because it did not want to feed while being confined in the aquarium.
A new and special exhibit was opened in March 2010. It was entitled the “Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea. Its objective was to educate the viewers on the global climate change as they view the potential impacts of such change on the tropical birds, coral reef creatures, green sea turtles, Magellanic penguins, and jellies.
Later in April this year, the “The Secret Lives of Seahorses” was opened for public viewing in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Among the species exhibited are more than 15 species of seahorses, pipehorses, sea dragons, and pipefish. No doubt the aquarium’s fame is reaching across the world.
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