Diving with Sharks

Husbandry staff at The Living Planet Aquarium dive in with the sharks once each month. The purpose of the dive is to give the tank a thorough cleaning. The diver scrubs the sides and uses a special gravel vacuum, which is basically a larger version of the plastic tube you would use to clean out your fish tank at home. Because of the tank's resident damsel fish, who like to build burrows, the gravel must be redistributed evenly along the bottom. This causes some upset feelings on the part of the fish, but they quickly get over it and build new burrows.

The 75-degree water feels colder than it sounds. Because of this, the diver will wear a wetsuit. Divers sometimes use SCUBA gear, but more often use a hookah system because it is less cumbersome. A hookah is a surface air supply system, which consists of an air compressor that sits outside of the tank and a long air hose with a regulator (mouth piece) on the end that the diver takes down into the water. There are always two people involved in the process: one diver and one spotter. The spotter keeps an eye on the air supply, hands tools to the diver, and ensures the diver's safety. All staff who dive must first have an open water diver certification. They must also learn the proper protocol for tank dives, go through a skills training program, and learn how to maintain the equipment, a duty of every diver.

But wait, there are sharks in that water! Although many fear sharks, that fear seems to come mainly from fiction rather than fact. In reality, there are fewer humans attacked by sharks than people struck by lightning. Many of these incidents would have been avoidable given a little education. Sharks, like any other animal, can become scared and aggressive if they sense they are in danger. To prevent this, the divers are very careful to avoid bumping into the sharks. They keep track of where all of the sharks are and avoid swimming, as the movement of their arms and legs could easily result in accidental contact with a shark. Instead, they walk along the bottom, held down by weights on their belt and ankles. No diver at the aquarium has ever been bit by the sharks. In fact, the sharks don't seem to care much when the divers are in the tank. If a shark gets in the way of a diver's cleaning efforts, the diver gently pokes its tail, and it swims away. It's the turtle they have to watch out for. The sea turtle who lives with the sharks is very curious and has been known to nibble on the air hose, which the spotter must watch out for.

The divers can see out of the viewing window into the aquarium, although being underwater, they cannot hear anything. If you happen to be at the aquarium when a diver is in the tank, go ahead and wave. The divers enjoy this unique opportunity to communicate with visitors from behind the glass.

Shark Tank sponsor

The Green Sea turtle is proudly sponsored by Tracy and Haydn McBride in memory of Kendall J. McBride.

Birds of the Rainforest Van

Mickey waves to his audience.

With the multitudes of critters you can see at The Living Planet Aquarium, it's hard to believe that there are even more animals being cared for behind the scenes. Those who participate in the aquarium's Penguin Encounter program are brought into a quiet back area and introduced to a group of birds with a special mission. Dusty the African Gray Parrot, Mickey the Eclectus Parrot, and Mingo the Blue and Gold Macaw are trained specifically to take part in the aquarium's Rainforest Van program. 

Mingo shows off his wingspan.

Education staff and a selection of birds travel in the Rainforest Van three times per week to second and third grade classes in the Wasatch area. Using rainforests as the theme, the programs cover elements of the required curriculum for each grade. For second graders, the subjects of the lesson are weather and food chains, while third graders learn about the layers of the rainforest and the difference between living and nonliving things.

For both, the program begins with a map lesson to show the students where rainforests are located. Hands-on, interactive activities engage them in learning about the main concepts. At the end, the birds make their appearance, to the delight of the students. The birds are trained to display natural behaviors, such as extending their wings, hanging upside down, and cracking open nuts. Dusty is particularly good at demonstrating a bird's ability to mimic. The students especially love it when he makes sounds like a UFO.

Last year, the Rainforest Van introduced 9,745 students from 106 different schools to the wonder of the rainforest and some of its most charismatic inhabitants. And the birds? They enjoy the program almost as much as the students, being lavished with attention and having a chance to show off their abilities to an adoring audience.

Dusty hangs upside down.

The Rainforest Van program is free to schools. Funding and support is generously provided by Salt Lake County's Zoos, Arts, and Parks, the Utah State Office of Education, and Informal Science Education Enhancement.

Designing a Home for Otters

The newest addition to The Living Planet Aquarium is the North American River Otter exhibit. These playful and curious creatures are so captivating that you may not pay much attention to their carefully-designed habitat. Two months and much thought and creativity went into building the perfect home for the otters.

Aquarium staff used many resources of information to help them with this huge task. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums sets standards for animal welfare and management, including very specific and detailed information about how exhibits should be designed for different animal species. Utilizing these guidelines along with examples from other aquariums and organizations that have river otters, the staff designed a safe, appealing, and engaging habitat.

To make sure the otters felt at home, the exhibit was designed with natural otter habitat and behavior, as well as their safety, in mind. The exhibit has about a three-to-one ratio of land to water, a good mixture for otters. Since otters love to swim, a variety of water areas were provided, including a stream, two pools of different sizes, and a log slide. To prevent standing water, which can harbor bacteria, all water areas are filtered and the entire exhibit slopes downward toward a floor drain. Rocks, made of Styrofoam and concrete, provide places for the otters to climb. Real logs, leaves, bark, and river rocks are plentiful in the exhibit, natural touches that help make this truly a home for the otters.

A major consideration when designing the exhibit was how to make it guest-friendly. The largest pool and the stream were placed next to the viewing windows in the hopes that the otters would show off their water play to visitors. A pop-up window provides visitors with an up-close-and-personal experience, and the otters don't seem to mind. In fact, they've claimed that area as a favorite place to snooze.

The otters are settling in to their new home very well. They've explored every area, climbing all over the rocks and swimming in every pool. They love to sleep in the piles of bark and leaves. The only thing they have not yet mastered is the log slide. The otters will walk up and down the log, but haven't quite figured out what it's designed for. The staff is hopeful that one day they will. In the meantime, the otters have found many other ways to entertain themselves and visitors in their new home at the aquarium.

Photo courtesy of Long Island Aquarium & Exhibit Center, Riverhead, NY

While they get accustomed to their new surroundings, The Living Planet Aquarium is conducting a naming contest for our three new residents. Cast your vote between March 18^th and April 15^th by visiting www.thelivingplanet.com.

The river otter exhibit is made possible by

Traveling by Bucket

Behind the scenes at the Living Planet Aquarium, the husbandry staff have been hard at work “bucket training” the Giant Pacific Octopus. Bucket training is the process by which they teach the octopus to enter a special bucket for transport between her holding tank, where she lives while she's not on display, and her exhibit tank. The purpose of this training is to make the transition less stressful. Once the training is complete, the octopus will choose to enter the bucket and is accustomed to being inside of it while it is moved. This makes transport a lot smoother and does not produce responses such as inking, which indicate the octopus is stressed.

Bucket training is done slowly in stages, allowing the animal to become comfortable with each step before progressing to the next. Each step can take days, weeks, or longer. The process involves rewards for behaviors that lead the octopus closer to the desired goal. The trainer begins by introducing the bucket to the tank for a few hours so the octopus can check it out. The octopus is rewarded with food for touching the bucket, putting an arm inside, etc. The further she gets into the bucket, the more reward she receives. After the octopus is used to being inside the bucket, the trainer will begin tilting the bucket and moving it up and down. The next step is to take the bucket completely out of the water and set it on top of the tank. Finally, the lid is introduced. Once the octopus is comfortable being inside the closed bucket, she is ready to be moved. For the Living Planet's octopus, the entire process took about a month.

When training an octopus, it is important to remember that they are very smart. This can be helpful, but it can also make the process tricky. The Living Planet's octopus is not only intelligent, but playful and very active. Even after she had learned how to travel inside the bucket, she would sometimes sneak out an arm or two before the lid was put on. The husbandry team enjoys working with this frisky member of the aquarium family, antics and all. Now that she is fully bucket trained, she doesn't need to worry about getting from one tank to the other, but can concentrate on inspiring visitors with her unique characteristics and fun personality. She is now on display in the Ocean Explorer exhibit hall, so don't forget to visit her the next time you're at the aquarium.