Otter 501 is premiering Friday, May 18 at 5pm at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle. Additional showings will be on Saturday, May 19 at 3pm and 5pm, Sunday, May 20 at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm.

This film tells the true story of Otter 501, a sea otter pup who was separated from her mother at a week old and became part of a groundbreaking surrogate program where she was cared for by humans. The pup was then introduced to an adoptive sea otter mother who, in turn, raised her for months so she could develop the necessary skills to survive back in the wild. Otter 501 was the last of 12 otter pups raised by surrogate otter mom, Toola, as part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation Program.

Today, Otter 501 is enjoying her life in the wild and is doing very well. She will soon be celebrating her second birthday!

GiveBIG was started in 2011 as a way to encourage our community to support local nonprofit organizations. And support they did! Over $4 million was raised and distributed to nonprofits that provide programs to strengthen King County and western Washington.

You can be part of the largest giving event in King County by supporting the Seattle Aquarium today! Any nonprofit with a profile on The Seattle Foundation’s website is eligible to receive donations and be part of the stretch pool provided by the generous sponsors of The Seattle Foundation.

Thank you in advance for giving BIG to our community. With your help, we can continue to Inspire Conservation of our Marine Environment.  Visit us on Facebook to share why you chose to GiveBIG.

The introductions at both ends were very successful with lots of initial greetings. Shortly after the introduction in our harbor seal pool, Biologist Sara Perry was able to capture an image of Barney and Siku blowing into each others’ noses. This was followed by a group swim-around, and then by the usual calm solitary swimming and resting that harbor seals are known for. This animal exchange was recommended as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Harbor Seal Species Survival Plan (SSP).

We are hopeful that breeding takes place both here and at PDZA. Harbor seal breeding season usually occurs anytime between Spring and Fall so we (or rather the seals) might get lucky this year, although a period of acclimation may result in no breeding until next year. We will just have to wait and see!

Come visit Siku at the Aquarium today!

Here is a video of the sharpnose crab releasing her young in the water.

Most of the time, a female will hold her abdomen folded closely against her underside. It’s only when “in berry” (with eggs) that she will open it to reveal her clutch. As development progresses for several weeks to months, she will periodically open this abdominal flap to aerate the eggs and pick out non-viable eggs.

Like many familiar crabs, sharpnose crabs have internal fertilization, but the females may store the sperm for months or longer before using it to fertilize thousands of eggs. Sharpnose females may reproduce several times a year, not just in the spring.

When her eggs are ripe, the female will allow the sperm to flow over them as they are being released from her body. She will immediately attach these fertilized eggs to the underside of her abdomen, the area between the abdominal wall and the abdominal “tail.” When her eggs are hatching, she will either flick her abdominal flap into the water to release the young, or as in this case, use her front claws to assist their release into the water column.

As with most newly-hatched young, these larvae immediately began swimming to the surface. In the wild, they would become part of the plankton.

Newly hatched young look nothing like their parents and go through several molts to transform into the basic shape, shown at left, a more adult-like form that will settle out of the plankton to the substrate below.

The spines often seen on crab larvae found in our plankton tows are thought to help the larvae stay buoyant in the water column. The “tail” is used to scoop up tiny zoo-plankton prey towards the mouth. Other appendages are used for swimming.

Come visit the Aquarium and learn more about our animals in the Life on the Edge exhibit!

Can you guess how much Barney weighs? Place your guess here and visit us April 20-22 for Marine Mammal Mania! Barney will be weighed at 11:30am each day. Come see if you guessed correctly and for more information about the hands-on activities, special talks and demonstration during Marine Mammal Mania, go to seattleaquarium.org/marine-mammal-mania!

Ingredients:
1 Herring
2 Capelin
1 Squid
1 Mold
Water

Directions:

1) Cut herring into strips

2) Place herring, 2 capelin and 1 squid into mold

3) Fill mold with water

4) Place mold in freezer for 2-3 hours

5) Remove ice toy from mold by running it under luke-warm water

6) Ice toy removed from mold

7) Deliver ice toys to marine mammals

8) Watch them enjoy their ice toy treat!

Come learn more about ice toy enrichment during Marine Mammal Mania (April 13-15 Northern fur seals and April 20-22, harbor seals). There will be an ice toy demonstration each day at 1pm at our Northern fur seal exhibit!

Male Northern fur seals can weigh 5-6 times as much as their female counterparts! A female may only gain and lose 10-20 pounds throughout the year, while adult males can gain and lose over 250 pounds in one year! During the early summer, Northern fur seals return to islands in the North Pacific to breed. Males come ashore to defend territories with the largest and strongest males attracting the most females into their harem. For more interesting facts about our Northern fur seals, go to seattleaquarium.org/fur-seals.

Can you guess how much Commander weighs? Place your guess here and visit us April 13-15 for Marine Mammal Mania! Commander will be weighed at 11:30am each day. Come see if you guessed correctly and for more information about the hands-on activities, special talks and demonstration during Marine Mammal Mania, go to seattleaquarium.org/marine-mammal-mania!

Can you guess how much Lootas weighs? Place your guess here and visit us April 6-8 for Marine Mammal Mania! Lootas will be weighed at 11:30am each day. Come see if you guessed correctly and for more information about the hands-on activities, special talks and demonstration during Marine Mammal Mania, go to seattleaquarium.org/marine-mammal-mania!

The video above, is a preview of our next Sound Conversations session with Jeff Renner and James Bodkin. Come join us on April 5, 2012 and learn about “What Can Sea Otters Tell Us About The Ocean?” Tickets are $10 and available online at seattleaquarium.org/Sound-Conversations. We hope to see you there!

The group of ecologists, marine biologists, veterinarians, geologists, hydrologists and statisticians met to refine plans for further data analysis and collaboration to develop major findings and implications for sea otter survival and public policy. The data is expected to provide the basis for many years of further analytical effort.

The Seattle Aquarium has focused actively on sea otters in its collection, exhibitry, education programs and research since opening in 1977. Seattle Aquarium Curator of Conservation Research Shawn Larson, Ph.D., is a member of the Bodkin research team; Director of Life Sciences ; C.J. Casson maintains the Sea Otter Studbook for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, (AZA); and Curator of Mammals and Birds Traci Belting serves on the board of International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA). We are currently expanding our sea otter educational/interpretive messaging and bringing greater focus to our important research. We recently installed interpretive panels providing, for the first time, a comprehensive explanation of the Aquarium’s sea otter programs and their importance to sea otters in the wild. We invite you to take a look during your next visit!

Seattle Aquarium Sea Otter Conservation Program

Throughout our 35-year history, we have focused on sea otter research, husbandry and education. Among our achievements are to be the first aquarium in the world to have a sea otter conceived and born in captivity – and subsequently live to adulthood. We recently consolidated efforts to form an official Sea Otter Conservation Program.

• Research: Our research efforts increase our knowledge of the animals we exhibit, contribute to conservation efforts in the wild, support public interest in research, and encourage young people to learn. We are involved in four sea otter research studies focused on; an annual census, population genetics, ecology and endocrinology.
• Husbandry: Under the direction of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Seattle Aquarium created and maintains the North American Sea Otter Studbook, which documents the pedigree and entire demographic history of each sea otter exhibited in zoos and aquariums throughout North America.
• Education: Sea otter-themed lesson plans are used for camps held at the Seattle Aquarium, as well as lessons that take place within our facility and in school classrooms.
• Retail: In support of our efforts our gift store is presenting many Sea Otter Conservation products.

Come visit our sea otters at the Aquarium and learn more about the Sea Otter Conservation Program!