Zoo Review: Georgia Aquarium, Part II

Continuing our tour of the Georgia Aquarium, we go from the frigid polar waters to the warmer climes in the Tropical Diver gallery.  This is probably the most conventional of the main galleries, a series of modestly-sized tanks housing fish and invertebrates from the warmer seas.  Garden eels, moon jellies, red lionfish, and big-bellied sea horses can be seen here, as well as an artificial coral reef.

Freshwater wildlife can be viewed in River Scout, a gallery devoted to rivers and lakes of the world.  In most aquariums, there is a heavy emphasis on the Amazon River, and sure enough, that region is featured here (although not as prominently as at many other facilities).  Absent here are many of the freshwater giants that I’ve seen in many other public aquariums, almost incongruous with the giant marine species which this aquarium has built its name on.  However, they do a better job than most aquariums of highlighting freshwater fish from around the world.  Besides the obligatory piranhas, visitors can see local fish from the southern United States – from every angle.  At one point, visitors who glance up will be rewarded with a view of gar and other river fish swimming directly above their heads.    Most of the tanks in this gallery are small, focusing on small but interesting species, such as fire eels, reticulated loaches, and Boeseman’s rainbowfish, among other colorful species.  An exhibit of special interest to me featured endangered cichlids from the lakes of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, a conservation crisis that few zoos or aquariums address as well as they should.    Also present here are a few exhibits of turtles – including some juvenile alligator snapping turtles, as well as a playful exhibit of Asian small-clawed otters.

As I mentioned yesterday, signage and interpretive graphics are a little lacking in the aquarium.  Visitors interested in learning more about the animals and their care, as well as perhaps getting a sneak-peek behind the scenes, can climb to the second floor of the building for the Aquanaut Adventure, an interactive educational gallery that lets visitors learn more about the workings of the aquarium and the biology of the animals.  Adventurous kids (and adults) can climb a monkey bridge, touch starfish, try out hands-on learning devices (my personal favorite was an stimulated ice wall that lets visitors experience how blubber helps keep marine mammals warm), and meet a few animals that they might not otherwise see, such as a tank of baby alligators.  This trek also provides views of the tank tops of some of the habitats, including the belugas in Cold Water Quest (where you might also spy a harbor seal hauling out to take a nap) and the Ocean Voyager tank.  A 4D theater (admission included with your ticket) is also located on this floor).

There are two additional marine mammal habitats which can be experienced either as exhibits or as shows, one for Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins and one for California sea lions.  I have to admit, if there was one part of the Aquarium that I didn’t particularly enjoy, it was the dolphin show… and I did say “show,” not “demonstration.”  It was too hooky for me, too much music and lights and special effects, and I feel that the presentation didn’t do a great job of emphasizing the need for training dolphins and other marine mammals for husbandry and welfare purposes – instead, it felt like a circus, especially with keepers dancing with and riding dolphins at some points.  I could appreciate the tremendous amount of training and skill that went into shaping these behaviors, but if someone were to come into this show convinced that aquariums just keep dolphins for amusement and entertainment, this probably wouldn’t have done much to change their minds.   For an example of what I would consider an ideal marine mammal demonstration, I would refer to the beluga/dolphin demos at the Shedd Aquarium. 

The sea lion show, while also a bit cartoony, didn’t bother me in the same way, and I did find that one to be a fair bit more educational, while still being enjoyable.

Besides visiting the exhibit calls, visitors have other options to get close up encounters with the animals.  You can sign up for a program to assist with a training program, or book an encounter with a harbor seal, beluga, sea otter, or other aquarium resident.  Guided behind-the-scenes tours are scheduled throughout the day, giving visitors a better understanding of what goes into taking care of the animals.  You can even sign up for the chance to go diving with the whale sharks, manta rays, and other occupants of Ocean Voyager.  All of these programs do cost extra, but for someone who is really into aquariums, I can’t imagine a better treat.

Not content with being the biggest aquarium in western hemisphere, Georgia Aquarium is determined to grow, with a major new annex under construction at the time of my visit.  This huge new addition will feature sharks, including sand tiger sharks, tiger sharks (which I have never seen), and hammerheads (which I have only seen once).  If it is anything on the scale of Ocean Voyager, it will be an incredible experience, I’m sure.

Apart from the dolphin show (and some nagging about signage, which Georgia Aquarium is hardly alone on), I have no real complaints about my experience, and I lot of praise.  Exhibits were great, I did see a lot of messaging about pollution and carbon footprints, and there was a lot of focus on in situ conservation.  There were parts that struck me as a little carnivalish, but (again, apart from my feelings about some of the shows), nothing that I felt compromised the dignity of the animals.  That’s a fine line that zoos and aquariums are always having to walk – striking a balance between educating visitors and getting them to appreciate the precarious state of populations in the wild and being fun, enjoyable places so visitors will come and give us money that we need to care for the animals and contribute to conservation in the field.  Right now, the Georgia Aquarium is bringing in about 2.5 million visitors a year, and most of them seem to be having a good time.  If some of those people can be mobilized to go out and be better global citizens, caring more about our planet’s oceans, that will definitely be a win.