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One of our most iconic exhibits is the Kelp Forest Exhibit, one of only a small number of above-ground living kelp forests in the entire world, and the only one in the Southen Hemisphere. During the lockdown, in efforts to reduce the maintenance needed while we were closed, we made the decision to remove the kelp from this exhibit and install artificial hiding spaces for the fish instead. Now, it's time to reforest the Kelp Forest Exhibit!

With lockdown restrictions slowly being lifted and people having more freedom to leave their homes and travel, Yoshi the loggerhead sea turtle seems to have found her home range along the Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia and is certainly choosing to travel less. Over the past two months, she has covered an average of 12km a day, much less than the 42-48 km/day she was cruising at before her arrival at Eighty Mile Beach. All this leads us to the belief that Yoshi is now comfortably in familiar waters and awaiting the Western Australian loggerhead mating season.

The Two Oceans Aquarium is thrilled to announce its reopening to the public on Tuesday 1 September 2020. The Aquarium staff and animals will once again welcome members, supporters, fans and visitors daily between 09h30 and 18h00 on weekdays, and from 09h00 to 18h00 on weekends and public holidays.

The Two Oceans Aquarium is open again! Visitors are already returning to their favourite underwater experiences, so we thought we'd share a few "favourites" that you may have missed during lockdown:

On Thursday 3 September 2020, reports reached the several Cape Town-based animal welfare organisations of an unusual-looking, distressed seal on Clifton 4th Beach. Upon closer inspection, it was identified as a young female Subantarctic fur seal - which would later come to be known as Daisy, because she was found at the beginning of spring.

"Bubble butt" is a semi-official term that's used to describe a condition in turtles where the back of their body becomes too buoyant, making their butts float. Often this is the result of a build-up of gas inside the turtle's carapace caused by an infection or injury - often from ingesting sharp bits of plastic. Unfortunately, despite its relatively innocuous name, bubble butt, or the condition that causes it, can be potentially deadly to a sea turtle. So why does Anette, a.k.a. Annie, the loggerhead turtle at the Two Oceans Aquarium have bubble butt?

The Two Ocean Aquarium has teamed up with Professional Emergency Care (PEC) to offer certified training to schools, industry and corporates on how to best manage the risks of Covid-19 in the workplace. We provide the incredible setting - with a view of the I&J Ocean Exhibit from The Avenue at the Two Oceans Aquarium (our new, versatile venue) - while PEC’s qualified trainers (all registered healthcare providers) will guide you and your team through everything you need to know about the risks of the coronavirus and how to build into your lives and places of work all those essential practices that keep ourselves and those around us safe.

On 20 August 2020 the African Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions held its first virtual conference. Following hot on the heels of five successful in-person conferences, this year was as innovative, informative and intense as previous years and did not disappoint – although we did, of course, miss getting together face-to-face with friends and colleagues from across the country and globe, all of whom are in the attractions industry in some form or another. Nonetheless, #AAVEA2020 delivered a diverse line-up of local and international speakers, some of whom may not have had the time to visit Cape Town, South Africa, for a one-day conference.

At the heart of the Two Oceans Aquarium are our people. You're our family. You're where everything we've accomplished stems from. And, you're forever part of our heritage!We could not imagine a better way of celebrating today than by teaming up with the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation to take up the President's Jerusalema Dance Challenge!

The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is joining forces with The Little Optimist Trust to raise funds for a number of initiatives, through the sailing of Optimist dinghies. On Sunday 4 October starting at 10h00 three little dinghies will be “sailed” on the Two Oceans Aquarium’s I&J Ocean Exhibit for 24 hours. The dinghies will be captained by Maryke Musson (CEO, Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation), Greg Bertish (Little Optimist Trust founder) and Dr Cleeve Robertson (CEO, NSRI).

The Two Oceans Aquarium is proud to announce that it has joined forces with the international philanthropic organisation the Save Our Seas Foundation to increase awareness about sharks in order to protect and conserve these often misunderstood animals. The Aquarium’s largest exhibit, the former Predator Exhibit, which houses five ragged-tooth sharks as well as other predatory fish species, has been renamed the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit. The two organisations will collaborate to increase communication efforts about marine conservation and research specifically related to sharks. This partnership also includes the development of Shark Alley, a shark information space behind the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit, which will highlight charismatic shark species, shark biology, sharks under threat, shark-human relationships, and will provide other learning opportunities about sharks.

Currently, there are about 440 known species of shark in the world, ranging from the massive whale shark to the tiny dwarf lanternshark. Some sharks hunt with large serrated teeth, some use electric shocks, some use their huge tails to whip their prey, some are even covered in spikes like a porcupine or poop out glow-in-the-dark blue ink to frighten predators. These animals are amazing, and South Africa is home to 117 different types of sharks, representing all their major families.