Search

Of all the things we miss during lockdown, human contact is one of the things we are best able to cope without - probably because of all our modern technology! Whether you're keeping touch with fibre internet at home, using an app like Zoom or Houseparty to interact with friends, calling your gogo or even (gasp) accessing 5G, we're fairly sure you've found some way to chat with the people you love, but are apart from.Animals don't have the internet, but they do have some other tricks for long-distance communication - these are some of our favourites:

Here is a selection of physical and print-out activities from the Two Oceans Aquarium's I&J Children's Play Centre, to keep the minds of young ocean lovers-active. These activities have been designed for children aged 3 to 10, and have interactive elements to keep parents and guardians involved too.

This is an unusual time for many of us as we remain in our homes, taking refuge from the outside world and the dreaded coronavirus. Some are finding the home-stay easy, being comfortable with their surroundings, while others are quickly feeling the ever-dreaded “cabin fever”, a hankering for something else, something outside.Eventually, we will all experience this. And eventually, we will be able to satisfy our longing for something other than the four walls that surround us, when it is once again safe to venture out. In the meantime, we stay put and we learn from this experience. For some animals in the marine environment, “home” is more often than not, a loosely defined term.

This is a time not only about keeping our physical distance and living in lockdown, but also about community, sharing and caring for others – there are examples around the world of communities and neighbours coming together to support one another in different ways. The Italians singing from their balconies is just one example of many. For some people this time has opened up opportunities to think about others, to share and to break down some of the barriers, some physical and some not, which exist between people. In South Africa, many people already live with a community spirit and there is much to be learned from them. How has your community or neighbourhood come together in unexpected ways… any act big or small? One of my neighbours made chilli chutney and left a bottle at each gate in our street.

Talitha Noble draws her inspiration from sea turtles and has previously shared some of the life lessons she has learned from these animals. The little turtle hatchlings that wash up on our shores have more lessons for us, especially during this time of lockdown. These little guys are often dehydrated, weak, injured and suffering from hypothermia – after all, they prefer the warmer waters further up our coast towards KwaZulu-Natal. After hatching on the beaches there and managing to clamber their way across the beach, dodging predators and avoiding the heat of the sun, hatchling turtles bravely pitch themselves into the waves of the ocean and are carried out, away from the beach by the currents. The start to their journey is already filled with uncertainty and danger and yet off they go, filled with anticipation of where they might be heading. Of course, turtles do what turtles do without emotion or thought as we know it, but when we think of the obstacles, like plastic pollution, that these little guys have to overcome in order to survive to adulthood, we could pause and reflect on the lessons they can teach us, especially when we are faced with a crisis in our own lives.

Missing the Two Oceans Aquarium's adorable rockhopper penguins? Here's a craft that you and your little ones can complete together to make a rockhopper penguin of your very own!

It’s lockdown in South Africa and everyone’s at home (well, almost everyone). But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the ocean and all of its wonders from the comfort of your favourite chair in the house, while doing the dishes, or – if you’re lucky – on your stationary bike or treadmill. This is your nearly-definitive guide to ocean-themed home entertainment. The lists are by no means exhausted, so let us know in the comments section if we’ve left out your favourite!

The Two Oceans Aquarium is excited and proud to announce the online presence of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation with its own new social media platforms. The Aquarium Foundation will be launching its own website in the very near future. This means more great stories about the ocean, incredible conservation initiatives, passionate people, informative and educational resources, fascinating research and so much more.

Our extraordinary ocean explorer, Yoshi the loggerhead sea turtle, is doing really well and is clearly enjoying her time along the Western Australia coastline. She is venturing past the beautiful and remote Eighty Mile Beach, a 220 kilometre stretch of mainly pastoral and indigenous land. This area is an Australian state marine park and historically, and still today, used to collect natural pearl oyster shells. She has travelled a total distance of 38 898 km (24 158 miles) over the last 860 days, which still gives an average of 45 km per day, for 2 years and 131 days straight.

Prior to the commencement of the national lockdown, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation ran the Marine Discoverer course, a five-day dive into marine science subjects for Grade 8 learners. Thanks to sponsorship from the American International School of Cape Town, 47 committed youngsters could participate free of charge, and we're pleased to report that all 47 completed the course with excellent results!

Things can get pretty weird in the sea … and we love it! We are extremely proud to present to you, for your visual and mental pleasure, the Two Oceans Aquarium’s believe it or not, hand-picked, A to Z of weird ocean creatures!

Join aquarist Leigh de Necker on her daily rounds of the Aquarium and meet the sharks (both large and little), fish and crustaceans in her care as she reveals what it is like to feed them during the Covid-19 lockdown.Although the Two Oceans Aquarium is closed to the public during the national lockdown, our team remains hard at work to ensure our animals always receive uncompromising love, enrichment and care. We hope that this behind-the-scenes look into Aquarium life tides you over until we reopen!