Zoo Review: Seattle Aquarium, Part II

The exhibits that I described in yesterday's post covered all of the exhibits that I saw at the Seattle Aquarium during my visit, save for one.  The remaining one was a small gallery of tropical Pacific species, consisting of one large tank and several smaller, jewel-boxes of tanks.  The fish and invertebrates in these tanks were the sole representatives of species on display that were not from the waters of the Pacific Northwest, perhaps a small concession to visitors who wanted to see something a little more bright, more tropical, more representative of, say, a coral reef.

Since my visit, that gallery has since closed.  It was obvious as I walked out of the Aquarium, however, that things were about to change.  

Immediately adjacent to the existing aquarium was the construction site of the new Ocean Pavilion, which was rapidly taking shape even then.  The structure opened earlier this year, and greatly expands the facility, both in terms of the size of its campus and the diversity of its collection.  This exhibit gallery focuses on the tropical Indo-Pacific, but at a much greater scale than the small gallery in the old Aquarium did.  More importantly to most visitors, this gallery introduces sharks to the facility, which had previously been limited to a few small dogfish in the iconic Underwater Dome exhibit.

Having not been able to see the final product, my impressions and review of the expansion will understandably be limited (and the pictures posted here are of the species that I saw in the old tropical gallery).  Exhibit areas include a mangrove forest, where small rays fly underwater amidst the roots of the estuary trees, a gallery of smaller, themed tanks stylized as At Home in the Ocean (seahorses, cuttlefish, etc), a jellyfish nursery, and more.  The main attraction, and the Aquarium's largest exhibit, is The Reef, which is home to a variety of elasmobranchs, black-tipped reef sharks, zebra sharks, bowmouth guitarfish, and spotted eagle ray, as well as morays, humpheaded wrasse, pufferfish, and many more.  The final species roster of the exhibit hall is still being determined, with new species arriving and being installed.

The opening of Ocean Pavilion  was a major change for the Seattle Aquarium, and one that wasn't without some local controversy about the deviation of mission and the introduction of non-native species.  When I heard about the plan, I wondered if there would be much competition or overlap with the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, which itself as a tropical Pacific aquarium.  Again, not having seen the new exhibit I'm limited in my ability to comment, but it looks very impressive, and it's not as if the introduction of new species has resulted in the displacement of the native ones - it's addition, not subtraction.  I'm not sure what's next on the Aquarium's agenda, though I've heard that there are plans to redo and expand the marine mammal exhibits, a project which I'm sure will be met with much approval.

It certainly sounds like an exciting time for the Seattle Aquarium, though I admit, I'm glad that my first visit to this facility was before the opening of Ocean Pavilion.  It was nice to see the facility as it was, when it was almost 100% focused on the creatures that could be found in its own waters.  From its handsome architecture (so different from the new addition next door) to the beautiful artwork (Chihuly glass, murals by the excellent Ray Troll) to its focus on species seldom highlighted elsewhere, particularly salmon, it was one of the most unique and special aquariums I'd ever seen.