| San Antonio Aquarium | |
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| Location | 6320 Bandera Road San Antonio, Texas |
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The San Antonio Aquarium is a for-profit aquarium located in San Antonio, Texas. The facility features a number of interactive exhibits where touching the animals was permitted. [1] The aquarium is owned and operated by Crysty Covino, the wife of former owner Ammon Covino. [2]
On July 30, 2018, two robbers abducted a female grey horn shark named Miss Helen and transported her to their house. The thieves kept the shark alive and it was luckily rescued by San Antonio police officers and returned alive and well to the aquarium. [3] [4] Following the shark abduction, a public petition of more than 17,000 (61,000 as of January 2020) signatories requested the aquarium to close its touch pool containing a variety of aquatic animals. [5] The petition cited the dangers of touch pools can have on the animals, namely due to the stress and potential injury inflicted by aquarium guests.
In October 2018, the United States Department of Agriculture cited the aquarium for the use of untrained lemurs due to the numerous instances of biting and scratching facility visitors. [6]
In November 2018, the Leon Valley Fire Department shut down and evacuated the facility due to a number of safety hazards related to electrical and mechanical systems. [7]
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Leon Valley Police shut down the facility twice for violating emergency orders prohibiting groups of 10 or more. [8] [9]
Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists have pioneered the animal husbandry of jellyfish and it was the first to successfully care for and display a great white shark. The organization's research and conservation efforts also focus on sea otters, various birds, and tunas. Seafood Watch, a sustainable seafood advisory list published by the aquarium beginning in 1999, has influenced the discussion surrounding sustainable seafood. The aquarium was home to Otter 841 prior to her release into the wild as well as Rosa, the oldest living sea otter at the time of her death.
The National Aquarium – also known as National Aquarium in Baltimore and formerly known as Baltimore Aquarium – is a non-profit public aquarium located at 501 East Pratt Street on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. Constructed during a period of urban renewal in Baltimore, the aquarium opened on August 8, 1981. The aquarium has an annual attendance of 1.5 million visitors and is the largest tourism attraction in the State of Maryland. The aquarium holds more than 2,200,000 US gallons (8,300,000 L) of water, and has more than 17,000 specimens representing over 750 species. The National Aquarium's mission is to inspire conservation of the world's aquatic treasures. The aquarium's stated vision is to confront pressing issues facing global aquatic habitats through pioneering science, conservation, and educational programming.
The cownose ray is a species of Batoidea found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England to southern Brazil. These rays also belong to the order Myliobatiformes, a group that is shared by bat rays, manta rays, and eagle rays.
Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago. Opened on May 30, 1930, the 5 million US gal aquarium holds about 32,000 animals and is the third largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, after the Georgia Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The Seattle Aquarium is a public aquarium in Seattle, Washington, United States, located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront. The aquarium opened in 1977 and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The aquarium exhibits hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries, all of which reside in more than 11 million US gallons (42,000 m3) of water. It was the largest aquarium in the world from its opening in 2005 until 2012 when it was surpassed by the S.E.A. Aquarium in Singapore and the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China; the Georgia Aquarium remains the largest aquarium in the United States and the sixth largest in the world.
The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, climate activism, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation.
The Miami Seaquarium is a 38-acre (15 ha) oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida located near downtown Miami.
The South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston, South Carolina, opened on May 19, 2000, on the historic Charleston Harbor. It is home to more than five thousand animals including North American river otters, alligators, great blue herons, owls, loggerhead sea turtles, lined seahorses, jellyfish, pufferfish, green moray eels, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, and sharks. The largest exhibit at the aquarium is the Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium and is the deepest tank in North America ; it holds more than 385,000 US gallons (1,460,000 L) of water and contains more than 500 animals. The Aquarium also features a Touch Tank, where patrons may touch horseshoe crabs, Atlantic stingrays, and other marine animals.
SeaWorld San Diego is a theme park in Mission Bay Park in San Diego, California. It is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, public aquarium, and marine animal rehabilitation center. SeaWorld, the theme park's proprietor, is owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts.
The Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is a privately owned aquarium in Hillarys, Western Australia. Located approximately 20 km (12 mi) north-west of Perth City, it is a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.
Birch Aquarium is a public aquarium in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It serves as the public outreach center for Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, with over half a million people visiting the aquarium each year.
The Texas State Aquarium is a nonprofit aquarium located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. The aquarium aims to promote environmental conservation and rehabilitation of the wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico and has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1995. Currently the largest aquarium in Texas and also one of the largest aquaria in the United States.
Aquarium of the Bay is a public aquarium located at The Embarcadero and Beach Street, at the edge of Pier 39 in San Francisco, California. The aquarium is focused on local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay and neighboring rivers and watersheds as far as the Sierra Mountains. Since 2005 the Aquarium has focused its mission on enabling ocean conservation and climate action both locally and globally. It is one of seven institutions under parent company Bay Ecotarium, the largest watershed conservation organization in the Bay Area
North Carolina Aquariums is a system of three public aquariums located in Kure Beach, Roanoke Island and Pine Knoll Shores. All are operated by the Aquariums Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources since 1976 and were accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. All three aquariums feature dive shows, live animal encounters, and feeding programs.
Downtown Aquarium is a for profit aquarium and restaurant located in Houston, Texas, United States, that was developed from two Houston landmarks: Fire Station No. 1 and the Central Waterworks Building. The aquarium is located on a 6-acre (2.4 ha) site at 410 Bagby Street in downtown Houston. It houses over 200 species of aquatic animals in 500,000 US gallons (1,900,000 L) of aquariums. The complex includes two restaurants, a bar, and banquet facilities. It offers programs such as Marine Biologist for a Day, Zoologist for a Day, Sea Safari Camp, overnight stays and more. The education department works with school groups and conducts outreach programs.
The Portland Aquarium was a 12,500-square-foot (1,160 m2) for-profit aquarium in Oak Grove, Oregon, United States that opened to the public on December 15, 2012.
The Adventure Aquarium, formerly the Thomas H. Kean New Jersey State Aquarium, is a for-profit educational entertainment attraction operated in Camden, New Jersey on the Delaware River Camden Waterfront by Herschend Family Entertainment. Originally opened in 1992, it re-opened in its current form on May 25, 2005 featuring about 8,000 animals living in varied forms of semi-aquatic, freshwater, and marine habitats. The facility has a total tank volume of over 2 million US gallons (7,600,000 L), and public floor space of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2).
The Austin Aquarium is a for profit aquarium located in Austin, Texas, United States, that opened to the public December 12, 2013 and includes birds, fish and other amphibians. The aquarium is owned and operated by Crysty Covino the wife of former owner Ammon Covino.
SeaQuest Holdings, LLC better known as just SeaQuest, is an interactive marine, exotic mammal, and bird/reptile life attraction chain. It was founded by Vince Covino and features hands-on animal interactions at shopping malls throughout the United States. The company has locations in Utah, Las Vegas, New Jersey, California and Minnesota. SeaQuest has attracted considerable controversy and legal issues due to concerns over its animal care standards.