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Humans like to name things. We name our cars, our homes and the streets we live on. Often, both our pets and loved ones end up with weird and wonderful nicknames, that just don’t make sense. When scientists name a newly discovered species, they assign a scientific name to it. Then, usually the locals in the area where the animal has been found (or in some cases the scientists themselves), give the animal a “common name”. This is the name that non-scientific people use when speaking about the animal. It might be a name that has been passed on through generations, or it might end up being a completely new name. It all depends on the species.

On your next morning walk, run or jog, grab a bag, put on your gloves and pick up a few pieces of plastic waste from your curbside and throw it away in the nearest bin. This is a great cause and we'd like to encourage you all to support this initiative from Ocean Pledge - plus, there are some prizes to be won!

The Wild Ones was an incredible TV production by local production house Homebrew Films produced for Net. Five episodes, collectively titled Aquarium: An Aquatic Life, feature the Two Oceans Aquarium and capture some of the most intense, emotional and real behind-the-scenes footage of our team at work. Enjoy - and be sure to catch re-runs of The Wild Ones on MNet to see the work of even more wonderful wildlife organisations.

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!

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!

"As an animal keeper, I've come to appreciate the fact that I've been able to spend lockdown caring for and interacting with the animals I've come to share a bond with," says aquarist Ayrton King of the Two Oceans Aquarium. "I know that spending time with the precious penguins has helped get me through the stress and uncertainty of the lockdown period and the coronavirus pandemic at large - I know that these birds cheer me up every day, so I hope that I can share some of that with everyone."

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.

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.

Dive into online learning with the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s brand new online learning platform!The Aquarium Foundation is launching its e-learning platform by offering an online course for Grade 8 and 9 students. This course covers topics covering biology and oceanography within the marine sciences.

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!

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.