Americas' Sail Tall Ships event in Beaufort NC
Posted: January 27, 2006 1:00 pm
Anyone of you sailors or fans of these huge sailing vessels going to this?
I hope to be there. It's going to be a big year for this area as the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is scheduled to re-open in May after a $25 expansion. Right now they're trying to build interest in the grand opening by having people submit suggestions for names for two male river otters that will be part of the many attractions of the renovated aquarium. More info below.3/4 Time wrote:Anyone of you sailors or fans of these huge sailing vessels going to this?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm ... ction=News
Aquarium readies for new residents
BY JANNETTE PIPPIN
PINE KNOLL SHORES — A pair of male river otters will soon have a new home at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. With the help of the public, they will also have new names.
With the arrival of two young male North American otters anticipated within the next few weeks, the aquarium is accepting suggestions for naming the furry, fun-loving creatures.
The otters are expected to be a star attraction when the aquarium reopens in May after a $25 million expansion. The expansion will triple the aquarium’s former size.
The call for names is one way to get the public involved.
“It’s a way to include them and get them excited over the expansion,” said Meredith Owens, the aquarist in charge of otter care.
The suggested names should come from North Carolina’s culture, history or natural and geographic features; be connected to each other; be one or two syllables and easy to pronounce; and be suitable for males. Anyone who is interested is invited to participate. Elementary and middle school students are encouraged to submit ideas that may come from their history, science and geography lessons.
All ideas e-mailed to pksmail@ncaquariums.com by Jan. 30 will be considered.
The chance to name the otters is a rare opportunity for the community. The aquarium presents its animals as they are in the wild and does not normally name them. But for the otters, the only mammals among the aquarium collection, there is good reason.
“The main reason from naming them is for training purposes. It makes it easier on the keeper and on the animals,” Owens said.
The training has multiple purposes, such as teaching them to feed at specific stations or holding certain positions so they can be examined for health care, she said.
The training is also good mental conditioning.
“It holds their attention and keeps them stimulated,” Owens said.
Names also help identify otters in a national breeding registry, which keeps track of genetic lines.
The aquarium hopes to have names for its otters selected soon so that training can begin once the two otters arrive at the facility.
When the newly expanded aquarium opens its doors, the otters will be featured in an exhibit in the Piedmont gallery, one of five aquatic zones depicted in the new aquarium theme, “From North Carolina’s Mountains to the Sea.”
According to the aquarium, otters prefer to dwell in remote, undeveloped areas but are becoming a more frequent site due the popularity of waterfront property. The Pine Knoll Shores exhibit will educate visitors on otter behavior so that they do not approach or feed the otters in the wild.
The exhibit’s viewing window will allow visitors to see the otters as they would be seen along the river or stream banks they favor in the wild. And for otters, that often means sliding down banks and swimming playfully.
“They are animated and active and wonderful swimmers that love to play,” Owens said.
