| 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 twice shut down the facility 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 is the home of the current oldest living sea otter, Rosa, and the birthplace of Otter 841.
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.
Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It 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 fourth 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 New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, weedy seadragons, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at Central Wharf include the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch. More than 1.3 million guests visited the aquarium each year prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is a public aquarium on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, United States. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction.
The South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston, South Carolina, opened on May 19, 2000, on the historic Charleston Harbor in the former location of the Anson Borough Homes, a public housing project that was closed over soil contamination and flooding conerns. It is home to more than ten thousand plants and animals including North American river otters, loggerhead sea turtles, alligators, great blue herons, owls, lined seahorses, jellyfish, pufferfish, green moray eels, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, pythons, and sharks. The largest exhibit in the zoo 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 700 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 located in Mission Bay Park, San Diego, California, United States. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park is an animal-focused marine mammal park, oceanarium, marine animal rehabilitation center, and aquarium with both indoor and outdoor aquatic exhibits. The park's shared waters of Mission Bay connect directly to the Pacific Ocean, and it is this location which enables the rescuing, rehabilitating and re-releasing of injured, orphaned or stranded marine animals.
The Texas State Aquarium is a nonprofit aquarium located in Corpus Christi, Texas, United States. It aims to promote environmental conservation and rehabilitation of the wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1995. It is the largest aquarium in Texas, and one of the largest aquaria in the United States.
Shark Reef Aquarium is a public aquarium on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is located at and owned by the Mandalay Bay resort. The attraction opened on June 20, 2000. Its main tank is 1,300,000 US gallons (4,900,000 L), one of the largest in North America. The facility is 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m2), and displays numerous species of sharks, rays, fish, reptiles, and marine invertebrates. It also features a shark tunnel. The reef was developed in consultation with the Vancouver Aquarium.
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 public 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 World Aquarium was an interactive animal exhibition, conservation research center, and animal sanctuary located in Laclede's Landing, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, founded by Leonard Sonnenschein. It closed in mid-2019. Some highlights of the child-centered exhibition are being able to feed and touch many animals. The museum allowed general admission, school tours and behind-the-scenes tours.
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.
BCFS Health and Human Services is a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization based in San Antonio, Texas, specializing in emergency shelter, foster care, and adoption. It was founded as an orphanage for Hispanic children in 1944.
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, Texas, Las Vegas, New Jersey, California, Minnesota, Colorado, and Virginia. SeaQuest has attracted considerable controversy and legal issues due to concerns over its animal care standards.