This sea turtle sculpture welcomes guests.
Are these supposed to be flying fish or were they stranded at low tide?
It's easy to wind your way through the five exhibit areas: Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Tidal Waters, and Ocean. There's a Smoky Mountains waterfall, a River Otters exhibit, and special programs like Live Dives and animal feedings. We were fortunate enough to see all of that.
At the live dive, three divers are in a 300,000 gallon tank depicting the wreck of the German U-boat, the U-352. Seven sharks and hundreds of other fish dart or prowl as one diver answers viewers' questions via underwater microphone. Quite a show.
This turtle demonstrates perfect diving form.
One of the seven sharks. The animal handlers claimed not to fear the sharks, but two of them used "shark sticks" (nothing harmful) to ward sharks away from the guy with the mike. Sharks are unpredictable and, like Templeton in Charlotte's Web, would have no qualms about doing anything they could get away with. (Charlotte said Templeton had "no milk of rodent kindness." What is a shark's equivalent?)
We were in time for feeding time at the alligator exhibit.
This turtle demonstrates perfect diving form.
One of the seven sharks. The animal handlers claimed not to fear the sharks, but two of them used "shark sticks" (nothing harmful) to ward sharks away from the guy with the mike. Sharks are unpredictable and, like Templeton in Charlotte's Web, would have no qualms about doing anything they could get away with. (Charlotte said Templeton had "no milk of rodent kindness." What is a shark's equivalent?)
We were in time for feeding time at the alligator exhibit.
This poor lady from New York didn't read the warning signs. When I told her to wait for the flash, I didn't anticipate this!
Nah, you know what a kidder I am.
Nah, you know what a kidder I am.This is some sort of albino, bug-eyed bottom-feeding ocean dweller. Didn't catch its name.
Nah, you know what a kidder I am. (Emergency flood lights)
Red jellyfish. I didn't ask what other colors they come in.
Speaking of jellyfish, when I saw that they have "no heart, no bones, and no brains", I almost felt sorry for them. But I've known people that met 2 out of 3 of those criteria. Sometimes they have no one to blame but themselves.
The lionfish. It was fun to watch. Don't know how it got its name, but apparently "Tigerfish" had already been taken. (Lions don't have stripes!)
Nah, you know what a kidder I am. (Emergency flood lights)Red jellyfish. I didn't ask what other colors they come in.
Speaking of jellyfish, when I saw that they have "no heart, no bones, and no brains", I almost felt sorry for them. But I've known people that met 2 out of 3 of those criteria. Sometimes they have no one to blame but themselves.
The lionfish. It was fun to watch. Don't know how it got its name, but apparently "Tigerfish" had already been taken. (Lions don't have stripes!)
Aside from the astounding wonders of God's creations in and around the seashore, human history is also fascinating. This map of North Carolina's Graveyard of the Atlantic shows thousands of off-shore shipwrecks that have been located.
Judging from this display, a whale would have had no problem swallowing Jonah. Some translations said "a great fish", but Jonah said there was nothing so great about it.
I have barely scratched the surface of what's inside the aquarium. For more info or to plan your own trip, visit www.ncaquariums.com.
Judging from this display, a whale would have had no problem swallowing Jonah. Some translations said "a great fish", but Jonah said there was nothing so great about it.
I have barely scratched the surface of what's inside the aquarium. For more info or to plan your own trip, visit www.ncaquariums.com.
But the fun wasn't over. Out back of the aquarium was a wildlife viewing area plus a 30 minute nature trail. This collection of pointers gave us some perspective of attractions both near and far. We proceeded to the Nature Trail.
A variety of seabirds inhabited the marsh areas and small islands we saw.
Before we had gone very far we came upon the Snake exhibit.
This exhibit was outdoors, though under a shelter. But it was March 19, and because the snakes were totally stationary, we questioned whether they were simply realistic models. But then Judy saw a rat snake slithering in its cage. AND, she saw heatlamps in the top of the cages. So they were ALL real. I didn't take pictures of all of them, but in my experience, the most important poisonous snakes for North Carolinians to know (and the most mis-identified) are the Copperhead (below) . . .
and the Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth). Many other snakes have similar markings or mimic their behavior, so identification is not always easy.
Near the end of the trail we came across a small pond, shrouded by a tangle of underbrush. You may be able to detect one of the ducks we were lucky to see there.
Before we had gone very far we came upon the Snake exhibit.
This exhibit was outdoors, though under a shelter. But it was March 19, and because the snakes were totally stationary, we questioned whether they were simply realistic models. But then Judy saw a rat snake slithering in its cage. AND, she saw heatlamps in the top of the cages. So they were ALL real. I didn't take pictures of all of them, but in my experience, the most important poisonous snakes for North Carolinians to know (and the most mis-identified) are the Copperhead (below) . . .
and the Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth). Many other snakes have similar markings or mimic their behavior, so identification is not always easy.
Near the end of the trail we came across a small pond, shrouded by a tangle of underbrush. You may be able to detect one of the ducks we were lucky to see there.
You can walk the whole trail without getting wet-- until you get to this "floating bridge." No matter how carefully you step, when those boards go down, water spouts up between the slats. Not a problem, though. I just got a few drops on my shoes, nothing worse. Good thing it's near the end, though. I'd hate for someone in a wheelchair to think this bridge was user-friendly. They might end up in the drink!
The whole excursion was exhilirating. Then we were off for more adventure. In my next post we'll visit Fort Macon and show you a few "parting shots."
The whole excursion was exhilirating. Then we were off for more adventure. In my next post we'll visit Fort Macon and show you a few "parting shots."
2 comments:
I love these pictures! If I could go to an aquarium on every vacation, I would!
Looks like fun...welcome back to blogging...I had missed your post.
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