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Social distancing: how do sea creatures handle long-distance mating?
Let's be honest, social distancing really takes a toll on the love life. Whether it's staying in contact with a partner who lives in another city, finding romance, or simply the tension of being in close proximity to your partner all day, every day, there isn't much that's sexy about being in lockdown. While social isolation might suck for us humans, these isolated ocean animals have no problem with finding love:Homeschooling in the ocean: how do sea animals learn from each other
Many parents have had to jump in and ensure that their little ones (and the bigger ones) don’t fall behind with their school work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents have had to get those creative juices flowing and educate the kids and keep them entertained, at the same time. And so many parents have already spoken up on social media, thanking teachers for what they do every day, having never realised before how essential, and trying, the teaching of the young is. Parental guidance isn’t something that is very common in the marine world, but it does exist. Perhaps not always in the way us humans would classify it, but in the animal kingdom things sometimes work a bit differently. Let’s take a look at marine animals that “learn” from their parents and their community, and perhaps some other unexpected sources.What happens to the aquarium's animals during the lockdown? critical staff are on scene!
South Africa's COVID-19 lockdown is undoubtedly affecting the lives of millions of people - but what is happening to the animals at the Two Oceans Aquarium?Yoshi the turtle makes scientific discovery: first high-density loggerhead feeding site in western a
Yoshi the loggerhead turtle is known by many titles: She's our world record holder and "Greatest-of-all-time" ocean ambassador. She's been referred to as the ultimate traveller, influencer, inspiration, adventurer, navigator, foodie and "most famous sea turtle ever". We can now, with confidence, add "discoverer" and "lead scientist" to that list! Yoshi literally guided Australian scientists to a previously unknown loggerhead foraging site off the coast of Western Australia. A team from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in Western Australia has been incredible with their support and interest in Yoshi, and headed to Port Samson earlier this week hoping that they would be able to locate Yoshi and replace her ageing satellite tag. On their arrival in Yoshi's vicinity, the sea conditions were great and they picked up Yoshi’s satellite signals on their mobile receiver. Dr Scott Whiting knew it was going to be a bit of a "needle in a haystack" search – but what they did not realise was that they were going to find a whole lot of other needles in that haystack! They did not expect to find 40 other loggerhead turtles in the most ideal feeding ground. They could hear Yoshi’s ping, but unfortunately never caught sight of her (she can sure hide well for such a large turtle).Two oceans aquarium closed temporarily in response to covid-19 pandemic
Due to the seriousness of the global COVID-19 pandemic and in light of the requests and recommendations made by the office of the Presidency of South Africa, the Two Oceans Aquarium will temporarily close its doors to the public from Wednesday 18 March until further notice. This will be the first time the Two Oceans Aquarium has closed since Christmas Day in 1996.How do marine animals survive in a human-made environment?
Living in an environment that is "sustainable for all life" was a huge thematic focus for World Wildlife Day 2020. We tend to think of this as protecting plants and animals that live in natural environments, but what happens to wildlife that has already been displaced or had its natural habitat replaced by an artificial, human-made one?Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation's Marine Wildlife Manager Brett Glasby and Seal Monitor Ayanda Cimoni met up with the team from the V&A Waterfront's Table Bay Hotel to share with them information about the wildlife found in the V&A Waterfront, to pick up some litter, and to get to know some of our local seals a little better (the Table Bay Hotel's mascot is Oscar the Seal after all).Yoshi has reached australia! record-breaking turtle's long distance swim continues
You've definitely heard of Yoshi - she's the amazing loggerhead turtle that was released from the Two Oceans Aquarium two years ago and has gone on to become an international celebrity - her ocean journey since release has become the longest-ever recorded journey of any tracked marine animal ever. She has traveled 37 000 kilometres in the 26 months since her release in December 2017. Throughout her journey, Yoshi has averaged and maintained a swimming distance of 48 kilometres per day. The latest tracking data shows that she has slowed down slightly and is now clocking in at about 46 kilometres per day. At this stage, we can only speculate why - perhaps she is preparing to mate? However, during the past two years, Yoshi has moved into coastal areas a number of times to feed (typical Yoshi), so this may simply be another pitstop along her journey.Avenue at the two oceans aquarium
AVENUE at the Two Oceans Aquarium is a Cape Town conference and events venue with unique meeting areas for business, casual and private meetings, as well as a spectacular viewing window of the Two Oceans Aquarium's I&J Ocean Exhibit.Wetlands week 2020: exploring a local wetland
World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally on 2 February. The day is used to raise awareness about the vital importance of wetlands to people and the planet. The day also marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971. The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation celebrates this day with a week of positive action and hands-on workshops in and around the beautiful wetland habitats of the Cape.Saying goodbye to aquarium mondays with radio 786
For the past two years, Zahraa Schroeder and her colleagues of Radio 786 has spent many a day recording at the Two Oceans Aquarium. The inserts were aired on Monday afternoons, and were known as “Aquarium Mondays”. The end of 2019 also saw Aquarium Mondays come to an end, let's look back on some of the highlights of these two years...Turtle road trip 2020: turning coastal communities into stranded turtle rescue heroes
Stranded sea turtles have no hope - unless you become a turtle rescue hero!From 17 to 28 February 2020, a team of nine passionate conservationists, aquarists and turtle-lovers from the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and the Two Oceans Aquarium will be taking to the road to visit the communities of South Africa's Southern Cape coast - communities with members who will likely become the future life-savers of stranded sea turtle hatchlings in the upcoming stranding season.Diver24: discover the joy of diving on 7 march 2020 – for a great cause!
On the evening of 7 March 2020 the Two Oceans Aquarium, in partnership with the UCT Underwater Club, will be hosting an exciting public event all about scuba diving, called Diver24.