The Subpopstar Project

Last week Michelle and I were fortunate to be able to visit a friend who has worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California for several years now. Aimee is the associate curator of birds so she could take us behind the scenes and show us animals and exhibits not generally available to the public.

One of the first things Aimee showed us was a Black-footed Penguins, also known as an African Penguin. Karoo was a male we got to spend a few minutes petting and watching explore his environment. The penguin was much softer than I expected. He was incredibly curious about everything. He didn't get off his cart, but was sure to investigate everything within reach. Getting to see a penguin up close was really special.

Karoo initially didn't especially want to leave his chums on the display, so Aimee had to take matters into her own hands.

The other bird Aimee shared with us was a Laysan Albatross. Makana was part of a pilot program to help reintroduce a breeding population of Laysan Albatross into part of the Pacific Ocean. Her family group nested in an area that had been contaminated over several years by U.S. military activites. The plan was to raise youngsters and introduce them to a new island and determine if they would use it as their nesting ground instead of the old island.

During the process Makana got hurt and became unreleasable. However, she became quite the attraction. She is comfortable around people though apparently she generally prefers men. While spending a few minutes with her she began her courtship dance ritual. To keep her happy I attempted to mimic her actions, though I'm sure I failed miserably. She didn't seem to mind however and provided several minutes of entertainment.

Here I'm beginning to match her head bobs and trying to whistle:

The courtship becomes more serious as Makana adds several new motions and sounds to the process. Though her bill is massive and it looks as though it would hurt, the nibbling tickled more than anything. It felt like someone was running their index finger over the palm of your hand. Considering the grip she could've demonstrated it was incredibly gentle.

After I became tired of bobbing up and down I grabbed the Flip to get this super-short clip of her up close. I'll probably never get to experience this again, so it was a genuine treat.

We spent a significant amount of time exploring all the exhibits around the aquarium with Aimee . There were many neat creatures to learn about and view including a special exhibit on seahorses (extremely well done). Time spent at Monterey Bay Aquarium is definitely worth it, whether you have a friend on the inside or not!