As mentioned in an earlier blog by our Director Connie Merigo, she and fellow Senior Biologist Kate Sardi packed up a van with Bruce the loggerhead sea turtle and Route the Kemp's ridley sea turtle and left the New England Aquarium at 7 pm on the April 28. They were joined by six other turtles from the 2008-2009 cold-stun season. One green sea turtle and four Kemp's ridley sea turtles were brought down from the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England in Biddeford Maine. One loggerhead named Godzilla and two Kemp's ridley sea turtles from our 2007-2008 season are also making the journey joining us from the Woods Hole Science Aquarium.

On Saturday, April 18, an article was published in the Telegraph-Journal. The article discusses the 11 year, $400,000 collaboration between the New England Aquarium right whale team and Irving oil Corporation. Our very own Dr. Moira Brown is quoted several times throughout the article. "Back when I presented this issue to Irving and their colleagues in the Maritimes, some of the questions centred around if we move the shipping lanes, would the population recover," Irving Oil's contribution will help fund our 30th consecutive season in the Bay of Fundy this summer! To view the article click here.

You've seen a few posts on training we have done with some smaller lobsters (here and here), but did you also know we are training a 24 pound lobster? That's right - this lobster is the size of 3 newborn babies! I initially started off just learning how to feed him, but have since introduced a target and he is doing great. Lobsters are really cool animals. Did you know that like people, they can develop handedness? All lobsters start out with their two claws the same size, but as they get older, they will start to use one claw more than the other. This claw will develop a lot of muscle, get really big, and become what we know as the "crusher" claw. The muscle of the crusher claw doesn't tire easily, so when the lobster needs to break open a shell (to get the food inside), the lobster can apply a lot of pressure over a long period of time. The other, smaller claw becomes the "pincher" claw. This claw can be moved quickly and is designed to cut through softer things, like fish.

The team at the Mystic Aquarium worked tirelessly to treat this animal and stabilize its condition. They rehydrated the animal but no improvements in its behavior or attitude were apparent. Quality of life for animals in rehabilitation is paramount. Despite therapy the seal's condition continued to deteriorate and euthanasia was determined to be the most humane course of action. The decision to euthanize an animal is never taken lightly.

We're asking for everyone to help us by voting for the Aquarium in this year's Partners in Preservation grant contest. You can vote EVERY SINGLE DAY until May 17th. Cast your vote on the Partners in Preservation website. You can also sign up to get reminders form the Aquarium to vote.

Well camouflaged in their winter plumage are, from top to bottom: our piping plover, semipalmated plover, sanderling and dunlin. They're currently molting into their more colorful breeding plumage. Check back for a less camouflaged photo of them this summer!

The New England Aquarium has long been recognized as the world's first modern Aquarium. Now, on the 40th anniversary of its founding, The National Trust for Historic Preservation has honored the Aquarium's groundbreaking architecture by making it a part of this year's Partners in Preservation grant contest. Now, with your help, the Aquarium can win a grant that will restore the building's interior to the same finish it had when it first opened its doors in 1969.

During training sessions, the lumpfish would look up at us while they were waiting for food or the next cool behavior. Sometimes, Blondie pushed water from her mouth right below the surface to make a mini bubble machine. It was so cute, I wanted to show everyone. I put this behavior on a signal by positioning my hand above her head so that she is facing upwards. I give the signal, which is "a starburst of fingers..." (that's a hard one to describe!) with my right hand and wait for her to spit out a little bubble. I immediately reinforce. You can see in the video, she catches on fast- one time she even jumps the gun and blows just as my hand gets into position! This is a great example of capturing a behavior; she blows the bubbles on her own, I put a signal to it.

Last week the rescue team PIT tagged all of our cold-stunned sea turtles. A PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag is used in a variety of different animals. Each tag has an alpha-numeric code programmed into the small chip. This is then injected into the triceps of the turtle.

Our piping plover "Pink" hatched on New Seabury Beach in June of 2003. Shortly after he was observed with an injured wing. Once captured he was brought to a rehabilitation center on Cape Cod where two breaks were found in his left wing. It was determined he would never fly again. Fortunately he has found a permanent home in our shorebird exhibit along with our other piping plover, May, and five other species of shorebirds. He will be six years old this summer!