This month we are celebrating the fact that Ziggy,  our now 4 year male green iguana, arrived at the Oceanarium 2 years ago, rescued by Vikki Cartwright at All About Animals and the RSPCA.   

We invested £4,000 in a brand new, 3m² naturally themed display. Custom-built specifically for the requirements of an iguana, Ziggy’s habitat replicates natural conditions he would experience in the Amazonian Rainforest, including three daily showers by the aquatic team, sun lamps, a basking tree, bathing pool and foliage to climb amongst. Ziggy clearly loves his home, displaying bright green colouring on his under-belly indicating he is a very content lizard. See photos from his arrival here.

Ziggy, our Green Iguana

Ziggy’s anniversary poignantly coincides with National Pet Month - April 7th to May 7th, which promotes nationwide responsible pet ownership.  During this time aquarists here at the Oceanarium wish to draw attention in particular to their areas of expertise – fish and reptiles  – or the group of pets known as ‘exotics’.

Our Aquatics team take weekly calls from members of the public who are looking to re-home their exotic pets, and while we would like to say yes to everyone, we are simply not able to accommodate all the unwanted and oversized fish and reptiles..

Sarah Barker, our Aquatic Supervisor explains; ‘Ziggy is a real success story and we are thrilled he is displaying such obvious signs of health and happiness.  Exotic pets can make incredibly rewarding and interesting pets, however, green iguanas in particular do not always make good ones. They can grow up to 6ft in length and can often be very aggressive and territorial.  They have long sharp claws and their tails can be used as whips if they feel threatened. 

‘Reptiles are termed ‘exotic’ pets for a reason – they need a different approach and have very different needs to a pet rabbit or a hamster.   It is essential that people understand the species they want to buy as this will help to determine how big the pet will grow, what specific diet it needs and will ensure the pet is provided everything it needs to live a happy and healthy life.’

 Creature donations from the public is not a problem only we at the Oceanarium faces – it is a growing national issue which sparked the NAW (National Aquarium Workshop) and the BIAZA Aquarium Working Group (of which our curator Oliver is a commitee member) to create the Big Fish Campaign.  The campaign aims to highlight the problem public aquaria face of having to re-home large unwanted tropical fish. The Oceanarium is instrumental in raising public awareness for the campaign through our own displays which house an abundance of rescued creatures including terrapins, catfish, giant pacus and illegally imported hingeback tortoises brought to the Oceanarium after being confiscated at Heathrow airport plus information videos and information points with posters and leaflets around our building.

Catfish and Pacus in the Amazon zone

At the Oceanarium we are passionate about the welfare of all creatures in residence here and although we hate to turn away creatures in need we find ourselves in a dilemma.  We need to consider our current creatures first and it is very difficult to introduce new ones as this could upset the careful balance we have created.  In addition new-comers could carry disease or infections.   We have a duty to focus on species for conservation purposes as well as those which are unique and interesting to visitors. 

 We therefore are urging people to be informed before buying any exotic pets and to be responsible with the care of them.

You will be asked simple questions by the independent facilitator and invited to chat about your visit in a very informal way. We will record the session and use the information to improve the Oceanarium in the future.

We are looking for visitors who fall into the categories of:
1. Not being an annual pass holder/member
2. Have visited the aquarium with family members under the age of 14 years

The session is taking place here at the Oceanarium from 6pm to 7.30pm and you will be paid £30 cash for expenses.

If you are interested and would like to know more, please call us on 01202 306001 or 07855 249773.

To clarify you must be available on Tuesday from 6pm to 7.30pm.

Many thanks
Cathy Burrows
Independent Facilitator

 The Offshore Cafe toilets will still be open to our visitors but they are limited in size; 2 female cubicles and 1 male cubicle. There will be a baby change unit in the female toilets only.

There will be no disabled facilities available onsite.

Therefore we would recommend factoring this into your visit and using the nearest local public facilities if required which can be found a couple of minutes walk from the Oceanarium building demonstrated on the map below.

 The Disabled facilities require a RADAR key which the Oceanarium can supply if required.

You can also find below details regarding the nearest public toilets and their facilities on the Bournemouth Council website.

If you have any questions regarding this please do not hesitate to contact us on 01202 311993.

On Tuesday one lucky lady called Erica had a particular special visit to the Oceanarium, unbeknownst to her, her partner of 7 years Curren, had planned a surprise marriage proposal!

Curren had contacted the Oceanarium from Austria where he was working in the Army, on his return to the UK he was going to be be coming down to Bournemouth for a holiday with Erica and their son. He thought it would be the perfect time to pop the question, and wanted to do it in a unique and memorable way.

Through careful planning with the Oceanarium team it had been arranged that he would bring a special message that he had written in a bottle to be placed in one of our displays for Erica to find when they were visiting the Oceanarium.

A very special message in a bottle

During their visit, they attended a Meet the Creature session at the display where the bottle had been placed, whilst looking at creatures such as the starfish and the cleaner shrimp, Erica was told that there was a special half term activity and for her to look inside the bottle. Upon opening it and reading the message Curren produced a ring!! It was all very exciting, and she said yes of course!!

We felt very honoured to have played a part in their special moment and wish them all the happiness!!

Erica and Curren - the happy couple

Every January here at the Oceanarium, and across every zoo and aquarium in the UK, we have to conduct a comprehensive stock take, which involves accounting for every single one of our approximately 1,500 creatures.

As you could understand this is a vast job as we have a variety of creatures from five animal groups; mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. Some creatures prove to be more difficult than others to count such as the tiny, speedy barbs in the Ganges and the tree frogs in the Reptile Sanctuary that have an ability to hide themselves incredibly well in bits of bark and plants.  The giant green sea turtles and black tip reef sharks, which as our larger creatures prove slightly easier to count!

Yesterday we had the Bournemouth Echo visit us to see how we were getting on with the mammoth task and to take some photos of our Aquarist Gary hard at work, more of which you can find out about here and here.

To make the task a slightly less gruelling one we maintain thorough records of all our creatures plus all the births, deaths, rescues and donations we encounter throughout the year. This is a requirement by the local authority for us to maintain our zoo licence and when it comes to January one we are very pleased is in place.

The past year we have had many new arrivals to add to our every growing list including the aforementioned tree frogs, lobsters, dragon eels, wolf eels, 30 common clownfish and not forgetting our lovely Oriental small clawed otters – Stan and Roxy.

2012 will see us hopefully welcoming many more new exciting arrivals so watch this space!

Already consuming one fifth of their own body weight each day, that’s no concern for our two otter residents, Stan and Roxy, who as a reward for their training progress and good behaviour this year, have received some extra yummy treats.

During a special Annual Pass event hosted at the weekend, members of the Oceanarium Kids’ Club helped prepare Stan and Roxy a delicious Christmas feast. The festive menu consisted of hermit crab shells stuffed with mince meat, grated carrots, peas, juicy cranberries and everyone’s favourite, brussel sprouts! Once the children finished decorating their food shells, the treats were hidden within a Christmas present for the otters to open, scoop out and eat with their little dexterous paws.

The otters are very curious creatures and we use a variety of activities like this as an essential part of their ongoing enrichment programme.

It was a great morning and to be honest, we are am not entirely sure who enjoyed the experience more. The otters who polished off their festive treats in no time at all while or the children who eagerly watched the pair receive and quickly devour all the lovely food creations they had just made for them!

Kids’ Club members were also given the opportunity to help feed green sea turtles, Friday and Crusoe, festive ice blocks full of their favourite fruit and vegetables. The children were also able to get up close and personal with some of the Oceanarium’s other fascinating creatures including a bearded dragon and starfish!

For all the photos from the event see our Facebook page

Throughout the two years, we held special fund raising activities at the Oceanarium, during school holidays we offered face painting and temporary tattooing for a small donation with all the money went towards the project.  We also had donations box placed within the Oceanarium.

THE CAUSE 

The CBD-Habitat Mauritania Monk Seal Conservation Project with the help from money raised have been able to continue their work monitoring the Monk Seal population in the Mediterranean, identifying key threats to their survival and educating locals about seal conservation. The results are starting to show, with monk seals beginning to reoccupy lost habitat in the Capo Blanco Peninsula.  

In 1945, Spanish expert D Eugenio Morales-Agacino discovered the Cabo Blanco colony of monk seals off the cost of Mauritania. This population now accounts for approximately half of the entire species, with nearly 300 individuals.

The community is under serious threat from a lack of appropriate breeding sites, with only 2 caves offering a suitable environment and protection. With such a fragile population, just one disaster such as an infection oil slick or rock collapse could mean catastrophe for the colony and population as a whole. 

The CBD Habitat Mauritania Monk Seal Conservation Project aims to disperse and expand the population to ensure its long term future. The project has a permanent base near the monk seal’s breeding caves, allowing researchers to observe the following areas of investigation:

• Distribution of the population and composition of the group.
• Births and integration of newborns
• Reproduction and pregnancy
• Mortality and development of individuals
• Nursing and parenting
• Diet and nutrition
• Natural behaviour patterns including diving.
• Genetic studies and potential threats.

At the end of 2010, Jesus, the Parques Reunidos Director for Animal Management visited the monk seal colony to see how the money raised by all the parks was being put to good use. 

WHO ARE THE CBD-HABITAT FOUNDATION 

CBD- Habitat are a not for profit organisation that develops biodiversity and conservation projects across Europe. They aim to improve the environment and aid threatened species – spreading awareness and respect for our natural world.   

Thank you to all our visitors that supported the cause and helped towards making a difference!!

We are absolutely thrilled to have won as we were up against some very strong competition. It is fantastic to have the investment we make into the attraction recognised by the local industry and affirm our position as Bournemouth’s leading visitor attraction.

In the last year the Oceanarium has invested heavily to provide an exciting new enclosure – Otter Oasis  –to ensure that we constantly provide visitors with new experiences. Otter Oasis offers visitors the opportunity to see the first mammals – oriental small clawed otters, at the aquarium.

As part of the ongoing development a beach front balcony has also been built to create outdoor space for the otter’s and provide a unique feature to Bournemouth – the view of the otters from the beach.

Customer feedback helps provide a backbone for our investments so we want to thank those of you who take the time to provide your feedback about your experience at the Oceanarium. If you do visit us and wish to leave feedback you can either find the self-completion surveys near the exit to the Oceanarium or you can complete an online survey on our website .

All in all, the Oceanarium staff had a great night amongst the leading local tourism businesses and would like to congratulate all the winners and those that were highly commended! Click here to see some photos from the evening.

We hope you enjoy our award-winning attraction in 2012 and here is to hopefully another successful year!!

It has been very exciting as the Keepers here at the Oceanarium have always had a long-term vision of establishing a breeding programme for our otters.

The decision was made to try and pair a couple of otters up to see how they got along. So  last week, a young male from our sister attraction, Lakes Aquarium, and a young female from Blackpool Zoo, were both moved down to Bournemouth and introduced to their new home and each other. Bea, our last otter resident was, in turn, transferred to Lakes Aquarium to join another.

Typically, it takes time for otters to get to know each other, but we have been very lucky here and our two new residents have already established encouraging signs of a romance. When they met it was like they had known each other their whole lives, running around, playing, and even cuddling up for a snooze together!

They are settling in well to their new home as well, proving a massive hit with our visitors, especially as the female appears to love the water, she spends lots of time splashing in and out of the viewing pools, teasing the male who has only just learnt to swim, so is not as confident! They are still both young, with the female, born in summer 2010 and the male slightly earlier in spring 2010, so was a great time for them to meet so they could grow up together.

All this is very encouraging in terms of the breeding programme and hopefully with time we will be hearing the pitter-patter of tiny paws. We will keep you updated!

Now there is only one matter in hand that you, our visitors can help with, and that is what to name this sweet little duo? So submit your names please, we would love to hear them by doing one of the following….

• Fill out a ballot paper found in Otter Oasis in the Oceanarium
• Email us at info@oceanarium.co.uk
• Comment to this blog post
• Let us know on Facebook

Closing date: 5pm Thursday 10th November 2011.

The two new names will be chosen from visitor suggestions & a plaque made to celebrate this.

Look forward to your suggestions!

Pride of place within Turtle Beach is our Reptile Sanctuary showcasing a group of Spiny-tailed lizards, accompanied by a young Spiny-tail named after British tennis star Andy Murray.

Andy was born right here in the Oceanarium during Wimbledon in 2009, leading appropriately to his naming by our aquarium staff.

At around two and a half years old, Andy is still a little way yet from becoming mature. However, in recent weeks we have moved Andy from a separate tank to the main Spiny-tailed lizard exhibit to integrate him with his Spiny-tailed friends as he progresses towards adulthood.

Andy is the luckiest lizard of all, as we have created him a new purpose-built apartment suite inside the enclosure to keep him separate from his older cohorts. When asked why keeping Andy separate from the other lizards is necessary, Oliver, our Group Curator here at the Oceanarium, will let you know that it is “due to Andy being so small. He has to be kept away from his parents and his friends because they are all too large for him to interact with properly. Spiny-tailed lizards are quite boisterous and quite clumsy at the same time which isn’t an ideal combination when there’s a little one running around!”

At this time Andy is only around a third of the size of his fellow lizards, and so it will be a little while yet before he is grown up enough to go and spend his time sunbathing with them!

There are added pressures such as competition for food and territorial rivalry that make keeping Andy separate from the other lizards a necessity. Despite being separated, however, Andy has plenty of space in his apartment to relax and eat his dinner without any problems.

If you would like to see little Andy you can find him in his new home throughout the day at the Oceanarium.