Newport Aquarium Welcomes Two Dozen Baby Alligators

Posted on October 21, 2019 by NewportAquarium

NEWPORT, Ky. — Newport Aquarium announced today the addition of two dozen adorable baby alligators to the popular Gator Alley collection of exhibits. Guests will have the opportunity to see baby alligators swimming in the bayou and basking on its banks. The aquarium is celebrating their growing family with a Bayou Baby BOGO offer. Through November 3^rd, buy one general admission ticket and get one of equal or lesser value for free.

Just in time for the cool, brisk weather, guests can watch the hatchlings explore their new home, which replicates a cypress swamp like those found in Florida and Louisiana. Alligators thrive in the warm, humid temperatures of the bayou, so this new home is a perfect nursery for the Bayou Babies. “Seeing a group of baby gators in the wild is exciting but can be rare. They have a lot of natural predators, so they are excellently camouflaged,” said Newport Aquarium General Curator, Kelly Sowers. “It’s so special that guests get to see the babies up close and watch them grow up at Newport Aquarium.”

The hatchlings are about one month old and only six inches long. Baby alligators grow about a foot a year during their first few years. They can grow to be as big as or bigger than Snowball and Snowflake, the aquarium’s rare white alligators. Our dedicated Animal Care Team is overseeing the hatchlings and monitoring their weights, measurements and food intake. As the Bayou Babies are acclimating, they’re slowly being introduced to their larger exhibit where they’ll swim under guests’ feet as they cross over a clear floor. But first, they’re spending time in a “baby pool” on the bayou’s beach and dock area. “What’s especially cute is to see the baby gators perched up on the rocks in the baby pool when they’re being fed by a member of the Animal Care Team,” said Sowers.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The American alligator was brought back from the brink of extinction in the 1980s. It is an endangered species success story so these baby alligators are important ambassadors for education and learning. “Their story should help us all appreciate these amazing and important animals today. They can teach us a huge lesson in how to protect other species that are in danger of going extinct,” said Sowers.

Buy One Get One FREE

See the Bayou Babies now during the Bayou Baby BOGO where you can buy one admission and get one admission of equal or lesser value for free. This offer is available through November 3^rd with advance purchase online at Newport Aquarium.com.

National Zoo Keeper Week 2018

Posted on July 20, 2018 by NewportAquarium

This week is National Zoo Keeper Week. Even though we don’t have “Zoo Keepers,” our Biologists give exemplary care to the animals that live here at Newport Aquarium. Follow us throughout this week to see what our biologists do every day! #NZKW

Mission: To recognize and promote dedicated zoo and aquarium professionals year round, culminating in an annual celebration during the third week in July – National Zoo Keeper Week.

Newport Aquarium has twelve biologists that care for all of the fish, reptiles, amphibians, and penguins that have their home here. Care for these animals is more than just simply feeding and giving the animals some attention. They also have a lot of cleaning, food preparation, and maintenance work to do! #NZKW

Training is an important part of the care of many of our animals here at Newport Aquarium. Animals like Mighty Mike and our Sharkrays are target trained. This means that they know to come to a target pole to get their food. This helps the biologists safely work with these animals and ensures that every one of them gets the food they need.

Kelly and Erin target feed Mighty Mike, our 14-foot long, 800-pound alligator.

Our biologists give animals enrichment. Enrichment can be anything from a new object in their space, changing around their furniture, a new scent, sounds of their wild cousins, or a new food item. Our biologists use enrichment all of the time to stimulate our animal’s minds, keep them active, and help our animals engage in natural behaviors.

Kristen celebrated Dr. Seuss Day by reading to the penguins.

There are many types of animals at the aquarium, which leads to many types of biologists who care for them. We have biologists who prefer work with the big sharks and those that work with the tiny dwarf seahorses. We have biologists who prefer to work with penguins and those that would rather work with frogs. But whatever our biologists do, they always work as a team to make sure the animals get the best care possible!

Tamara is one of our resident penguin biologists. Her main job is taking care of our African Penguins. Tamara also works with our outreach reptiles. Tamara says, “My favorite part of my job is learning the different personalities of all of the animals I work with!”

Scott feeds Shark Central in the morning. The sharks like to eat squid.

Scott is a jack of all trades. He is an aquarist, a plumber, and one of the local news station’s favorite interviewees. Scott did our first Takeover Tuesday blog post. One of his favorite tanks to work with is our shark touch tank, Shark Central. “I love working with Shark Central because it has sharks from all over the world.”

Erin works with our reptile and amphibian collection. We featured Erin in A Day in the Life of a Herpetologist. While she is in charge of the care of our alligators and venomous reptiles, there is a special place in her heart for the frogs of Frog Bog. “Frogs are incredible animals. The way they change from their fish lifestyle as a tadpole to becoming a frog has always fascinated me!” #NZKW

Kristen is one of our new biologists. She was first featured in our Animal Experience Specialist Takeover Tuesday. Because of this, she helps take care of a little bit of everything. “I love that I get to take care of many different kinds of animals. It helps to make every day interesting!”

Rob takes care of our live coral tanks. He also helps out in our Seahorse Gallery with the Ribbon Dragons and Dwarf Seahorses. “I love corals because they are colorful, challenging, and confusing to many people. They are a reminder to everyone that the health of our oceans is very important.”

Ty has a passion for the invertebrates at Newport Aquarium. He leads team in the care for Simon the Octopus and the Jellyfish. “My favorite part of working with jellyfish is the culturing and propagation.” Learn more about Ty in his Takeover Tuesday: World of the Octopus Edition.

Health care is always on the mind of a good biologist. Daily observation of the animals helps to spot a problem before it starts. And if the need arises, our biologists work closely with our Vet Team to address any issue.

Our biologists realize that there is more to their work than simply taking care of the animals right in front of them. Conservation is a vital consideration at any aquarium. We at Newport Aquarium play our part as well. Our biologists have taken part in such projects as freshwater mussel studies here in Kentucky and sea turtle headstart programs in North Carolina.

Kelly target trains the caiman lizard.

Kelly helps our reptiles live a happy, healthy life. She knows that training helps the animals get better care and helps to stimulate their minds. She is currently working to train many of our reptiles, including Nester, our caiman lizard. “I feel proud of Nester when he targets correctly. It is very satisfying.”

Jen is with one of our shark rays in the acclimation pool.

Jen is an aquarist who works with all of our tunnel systems. This includes her favorite tank, Surrounded by Sharks. She says her favorite part of her job is “definitely the incredible animals she gets to work with!”

Michelle hand feeds the stingrays in our stingray touch pool.

Michelle spends much of her day caring for our stingrays in Stingray Hideaway, and was featured in a special Takeover Tuesday all about Stingray Hideaway. Because stingrays are so intelligent and curious, she also makes sure they get the enrichment they need to live a stimulating and happy life. “Each stingray interacts with the enrichment in a different way. I love to watch the way each one expresses her own quirks when I give a new enrichment item.”

Introducing Victoria to her “snow spa” behind the scenes. It helped her stay cool during her molting process.

Dan is our senior penguin biologist. He spends most of his day cleaning and caring for our cold weather penguins in Penguin Palooza. He’s taking care of Victoria the penguin. He says his favorite part of his job is penguin breeding. “It is challenging to breed them. I get one shot a year and if it doesn’t work, I have to try and figure out why.” Dan also wrote a Takeover Tuesday for World Penguin Day.

Margaret is an aquarist who works with a variety of saltwater fish. She was featured in a special Tide Pool edition of Takeover Tuesday. She gives her time and talent to the animals that live in our Shore Gallery. “I am currently target training the Snowflake Eels and Trumpet Fish. It is cool to watch them learn and engage with me.”

Laurel works closely with our quarantine animals and those that live at our offsite animal health facility. She and the vet team are the first people that our animals encounter before they make their way to the exhibits here at Newport Aquarium. “The best part of this job is bringing animals to people who may never get to see them otherwise. It makes an impact on these people and helps them become more aware of the world and conservation needs.”

Thank you for following along and learning more about our talented team of animal care takers. Next time you see one of them,. #ThankAKeeper

Mighty Farewell: Famous Alligator Saying Goodbye to Newport Aquarium

Posted on July 9, 2018 by NewportAquarium

NEWPORT, Ky. — After five years, wowing millions of people at Newport Aquarium, Mighty Mike, the largest American Alligator outside of Florida, is preparing to head back to the Sunshine State this summer.

At 14 feet long and 800 pounds, Mighty Mike’s size makes it clear that he is truly a living dinosaur. Alligators have been around for 250 million years and seeing Mighty Mike up close reveals how these powerful creatures have survived so long. With his enormous teeth and muscular tail, this is one creature you may not want to come across in the wild, which makes it all the more important for the public to get to meet animal ambassadors like Mighty Mike.

Wowing guests with his amazing size, Mighty Mike has built connections with guests that will stay with them forever. “Getting the public to understand and appreciate these animals has been a critical factor in helping the American alligator achieve sustainable populations after being listed as endangered for decades,” said Eric Rose, Executive Director at Newport Aquarium. “We’re grateful to the Crocodilian Conservation Center and to our world-class animal care team for keeping Mike happy and healthy all these years, and to all the guests who’ve come to see him.”

Mighty Mike is going back home to the Crocodilian Conservation Center in Florida, where he will continue to share an important conservation message as an ambassador for wetlands habitat and preservation. He will create opportunities for others to care more about watersheds and ecosystems around them.

The last chance to see this living dinosaur at Newport Aquarium is September 9. Fans will have the chance to leave well wishes for Mighty Mike on a banner that will be on display in Gator Alley for the rest of the summer.

One Kid FREE – Extended By Popular Demand
For a very limited time, Newport Aquarium is offering one free child admission with each full price adult. The offer is valid Sundays through Fridays after 4 p.m. and is available exclusively online at NewportAquarium.com

Extended Summer Hours
Just for summer, Newport Aquarium is extending its hours and will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily between May 27 and September 2.

Two Summers of Fun with an Annual Pass
For a limited time only, guests will get two extra months free when they purchase an Annual Pass. That’s 14 months of fun and discovery for the price of 12 months, plus exclusive Passholder events, bring a friend free days and additional savings throughout the year. This offer ends July 22, 2018.

For more information, visit NewportAquarium.com or call 800-406-FISH (3474).

Alligator Awareness Day

Posted on August 3, 2017 by NewportAquarium

Today is Alligator Awareness Day. Alligators are mainly spotted in the southeastern parts of the United States, including Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, but you can spot seven American Alligators right here at Newport Aquarium! American alligators are the first animals to ever be put on the endangered species list, but were later removed thanks to education and conservation of the species.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

White Alligators:

Our white alligators are the most unique because not many of them are found in the wild or even in zoos or aquariums. Snowball (14 years old) and Snowflake (12 years old) are two of fewer than 100 known white alligators in the world.

These unique creatures look the way they do because they are albino, specifically a type called amelanistic. Biologist, Erin Muldoon said this means the alligators have “a loss of the pigment, melanin. This gives them their white skin and red eyes.” This condition also gives them the inability to blend in with their surroundings, or protect themselves from the sun.

Just as certain genes are passed down from a parent to a child, Snowball and Snowflake would most likely pass down Albinism if these two were to have babies.

Baby Gators:

Newport Aquarium currently has four baby alligators. Carl, Willard, Edmund, and Murphy are ambassador animals for their species. They are part of our Animal Outreach Program. They were all born in August 2015 at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.

Guests get a one-on-one interaction with a baby alligator during a Backstage Animal Experience.

In order to keep people interested and informed about these gators, guests at Newport Aquarium are able to get up close and personal with them. “Allowing guests to touch and interact with these animals helps to spark a connection that can inspire them to help preserve these animals and their wild habitat,” said Muldoon.

The WAVE Foundation at Newport Aquarium takes the baby alligators to schools, libraries, daycare centers and senior centers. To learn more about having the WAVE on Wheels Educational Outreach Program visit you, click here.

Our baby gators will eventually return to St. Augustine once they reach a certain length and size, and then we will welcome a new batch of baby gators!

Mighty Mike:

Our well known gator Mighty Mike made his debut return with us in 2013, and has been catching the eyes of many ever since.

Guests can get eye-to-eye with Mighty Mike in Gator Alley.

Guests can get eye-to-eye with Mighty Mike in Gator Alley. Mike is around 15 feet long and is estimated to weigh around 700-800 lbs.

You must be thinking…How do you feed such a BIG gator? “He is target trained, which means that he must come to a target to get his food. One of his current favorites right now is chicken,” Muldoon said.

Herpetologists, Erin Muldoon and Ryan Dumas have target trained Mighty Mike.

Alligator Facts:
There are only two species of true alligators in the world, the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the endangered Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis).

Compared to crocodiles, alligators have a rounder and wider “U” shaped snout. Also, when the alligator’s jaw is closed, the fourth bottom tooth cannot be seen.

Most alligators prefer to live in fresh water.

Stop by and discover the wonder of all of the animals at Newport Aquarium – the land-dwelling species, and aquatic animals, and we’re sure you’ll make memories worth repeating.

To learn more about the Backstage Animal Experience at Newport Aquarium, click here.

Takeover Tuesday: The Guest Experience

Posted on June 6, 2017 by NewportAquarium

Takeover Tuesday features a “day in the life” of biologists, and exhibits staff at Newport Aquarium. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Hello, my name is Greg Moore, I’m a Guest Experience Supervisor here at Newport Aquarium, and I’m taking over your Tuesday!

Baby alligator, Willard, is one of the ambassador animals at Newport Aquarium. Guests have an opportunity to meet an ambassador animal, during a daily Animal Outreach in the Stingray Hideaway lobby.

As a Guest Experience Supervisor, my focus is making sure guests have the most memorable experience, and create memories worth repeating! At the Tide Pool, guests can touch amazing creatures including sea stars, horseshoe crabs and anemones.

At Newport Aquarium, guests can Sea, Touch, and Explore… Together!

Tidepool (2)

Throughout the day, our team is stationed throughout the aquarium, to welcome guests, answer questions, and teach you about the amazing animals you’ll meet.

Denver the loggerhead sea turtle joined our morning meeting. He welcomes guests to Shark Ray Bay Theater, and often likes to hang out in that window.

I love leading the team. It can be a stressful job, but so rewarding. All the jobs my team does, I also will do at any given day. In the morning, we’ll have a team clean all the acrylic throughout the aquarium, to get rid of any smudges or salt residue. Cleaning the penguin window is the best, because they’re so active in the morning and sometimes follow the pole.

Some of the King penguins go for a morning swim in Penguin Palooza.

Interacting with guests, especially kids, is one of my favorite things. To see a child’s excitement as they get to walk four feet above the shark tank, touch a shark for the first time, or even learn something new about these beautiful animals and what we can do to keep them around for future generations, is the highlight of my day!

A diver poses while in the Amazon tank.

When I was a kid, my all-time beloved animals were the penguins. So naturally, my favorite part of working at Newport Aquarium is working with the African Penguins.

When guests visit Newport Aquarium, they can purchase a Penguin Encounter and get up close and personal with these adorable birds.

When a guest is surprised by how they feel, about their crazy characteristics, how their population is declining, makes me proud to be a part of that. African penguins are an endangered species. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums launched the Invest in The Nest campaign to help save these endangered penguins in the wild.

So, when you come to the aquarium, I may be helping you touch a shark, teaching you about our sea turtle, or showing you some penguins. Hope to see you soon!

Plan your visit to Newport Aquarium: Things To Do, Visitor Tips, Additional Experiences, Penguin Encounters, Aquarium Activities, Shows and Feeds.

#Takeover Tuesday

Newport Aquarium Celebrates the Successful Comeback of American Alligators

Posted on June 3, 2015 by NewportAquarium

NEWPORT, Ky. — Thursday marks a historic anniversary for the preservation of one of the most recognizable animals in the United States – the American alligator.

Twenty-eight years ago on June 4, 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the American alligator from the Endangered Species List, just 20 years after the implementation of the Endangered Species Preservation Act.

After enjoying a bountiful population for millions of years, the American alligator became on the verge of extinction in the 20th century, mostly due to over-hunting for the production of consumer goods.

Thankfully, with the help of the Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966) and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the over-hunting of American alligators came to a halt.

Today, the American alligator population is thriving throughout the Southeastern U.S. – so much so that they sometimes give people a cheap thrill by showing up unannounced in their back yards.

Mighty Mike is more than 14 feet long and 800 pounds.

Such was the case for Mighty Mike – the biggest and baddest alligator outside the state of Florida who resides at Newport Aquarium. Back in 2000, the more than 14-foot, 800-pound gator was found basking on a boat dock in Lake Talquin, Fla. Because of his large size, Mighty Mike was considered a threat to locals. State wildlife authorities declared him a nuisance and ordered him destroyed, as required by Florida law.

Fortunately, the trapper who caught Mighty Mike knew he was special because of his size and asked a local reptile expert to provide Mighty Mike with a new home. Since that time, Mighty Mike has served as a traveling ambassador for American alligators and has captivated millions of viewers who marvel at his enormous size.

Despite the American alligator’s overall population thriving, the species has a subpopulation that is in danger of becoming extinct – white (either albino or leucistic) American alligators.

Because they have a difficult time blending into their surroundings, making them either easy-to-spot prey or easy-to-avoid ambush predators, there are less than 100 known white alligators in the world.

Newport Aquarium is the home to two albino American alligators, Snowball (male) and Snowflake (female). Since their gene pools are separated far enough, it is the hope of Newport Aquarium officials that Snowball and Snowflake will eventually mate to help with this subpopulation’s growth.

Guests can see Mighty Mike, Snowball and Snowflake at Newport Aquarium’s Gator Alley exhibit, which showcases six species of crocodilians from four continents – one of the most diverse collections of crocodilian species in the country.

###

Newport Aquarium, voted the No. 1 aquarium in the country by USA Today’s 10Best.com in 2012, has showcased thousands of animals from around the world in a million gallons of water since 1999. Named a top U.S. aquarium by US City Traveler and Destinations Travel Magazine in 2014, and also by Travel Channel in 2013, Newport Aquarium is a Herschend Family Entertainment company and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Newport Aquarium is open to the public 365 days a year and is located across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati at Newport on the Levee.

Find us on: Facebook.com/NewportAquarium | Twitter: @NewportAquarium

One Aquarium Way | Newport, KY 41071 | 859-261-7444
www.newportaquarium.com

Aquarium Works

News, ideas, adventures.

Category Archives: Alligator