Heart Warming Wild Otter Baby Born at Monterey Bay Aquarium

December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 risahopebaby, california, conservation, cute, Monterey Bay Aquarium, nature, sea otterLeave a comment

Krystian-Science-Nature-Logo This baby otter is so cute it will melt your face off. Seriously. The Monterey Bay Aquarium received a big holiday surprise after a pregnant wild sea otter swam into its tide pool and gave birth to the cutest little pup!

Sea Otter Baby - Monterey Bay Aquarium — Sea Otter gives birth to newborn pup in Monterey Bay Aquarium Tide Pool. Photo: Tyson V. Rininger, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Apparently the mom was chilling in and around the Aquarium’s Great Tide Pool for a few days, which isn’t common for healthy otters. She had some of the Aquarium staff concerned by her behavior until she popped out a baby. 😍

The Aquarium considers the otter’s birth to be a conservation success story. Otters were once hunted to near extinction – with just 50 left in all of California by the early 1800’s. But, after legislative protection and a soft spot in the heart of people everywhere for the furry guys, the otter population has rebounded to steady levels – with 3,000 in central California alone.

otter Gif

Sea otters don’t have blubber to keep them warm in the cold water. They have a super thick fur coat instead, which they keep full of air bubbles while grooming for insulation. In the wild, sea otter moms spend a lot of time grooming their babies to keep them warm and buoyant.

Fun Fact: Sea otters have 1 million hairs per square inch—more than any other animal.

Sea Otter gives birth to newborn pup in Monterey Bay Aquarium Tide Pool. Photo: Tyson V. Rininger, Monterey Bay Aquarium

SCIENCE VIDEO ROUNDUP: Huge Great White Shark, Booze Reaches the ISS, and a Two-Headed Sea Slug

August 19, 2015October 19, 2015 risahopeconservation, great white sharks, ISS, KSTV, media, neon sea slug, science, sharks, space, strange science, Underwater, video, water, whiskeyLeave a comment

KSTV Weekly Science Wrap Up!

1) ‘Deep Blue’ – The Biggest Great White Shark Caught on Film

2) LA Saves Water with ‘Shade Balls’

3) Whiskey Reaches the ISS

&

4) The World’s First Two-Headed Sea Slug

Los Angeles Drops 96 Million ‘Shade Balls’ into the LA Reservoir Turning it into a Massive Ball Pit

August 14, 2015 risahopecalifornia, conservation, drought, Los Angeles, nature, pop culture, science, waterLeave a comment

KS_LOGOs2_PopCulture If you asked a 4th grade class how they might solve California’s historic drought crisis, one kid might yell – “turn the water into a Chuck E. Cheese ball pit!” Well, Los Angeles did just that, and the video is pretty fun to watch. Give your inner child a high five and watch the video below. 😎

California is in the middle of its worst drought on record and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is doing its part to conserve water. This week, the city finished the final phase of its ‘shade ball’ initiative. LA dropped 96 million plastic black balls onto the surface of its 175 acre water reservoir, which is expected to save them $250 million and prevent the annual loss of over 300 million gallons of water. The shade balls are a cheaper alternative to LA’s other conservation ideas, which included splitting the basin in half or installing massive floating covers.

The LADWP said in a press release, “The small, black plastic balls protect water quality by preventing sunlight-triggered chemical reactions, deterring birds and other wildlife, and protecting water from rain and wind-blown dust.”

The reservoir, located in LADWP’s Van Norman Complex in Sylmar, holds 3.3 billion gallons of water – enough to supply the entire city of Los Angeles with water for three weeks.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power released 96 million black shade balls into the Los Angeles Reservoir to reduce evaporation and deter algal growth. PHOTOGRAPH BY GENE BLEVINS, LA DAILY NEWS/ZUMA WIRE/CORBIS

The project cost a total of $34.5 million, but, at $0.36 each, the shade balls require no construction, parts, labor or maintenance aside from occasional rotation. They are designed to reduce evaporation, cool the water, and make the reservoir less susceptible to algae, bacterial growth, and chemical reactions.

The shade balls are made of black polyethylene and filled with water so they don’t blow away. According to the manufacturers, the balls should last up to 25 years.

Dr. Brian White, a now-retired LADWP biologist, was the first person to think of using shade balls for water quality. The idea came to him when he learned about the application of “bird balls” in ponds along airfield runways.

CREDIT: Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic

Massive Shark Report: ‘Deep Blue’ is Biggest Great White Caught on Film and Huge Tiger Shark Caught in Australia

August 13, 2015 risahopeAustralia, conservation, Deep Blue, great white sharks, Mexico, nature, ocean, sharks, tiger shark, travel, Underwater3 Comments

KS_LOGOs2_Underwater I can’t decide if this footage of what is believed to be the biggest great white shark ever caught on film is terrifying or eerily soothing. Her name is ‘Deep Blue’ and not only is she over 20-FEET long – she may also be pregnant.

The footage was captured by shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island in 2013, but wasn’t released until now.

When Padilla first spotted ‘Deep Blue’ he wasn’t afraid, he was excited. “When I saw Deep Blue for the first time, there was just one thought on my mind: HOPE. A shark of that size is at least 50 years old and that tells me protection and conservation efforts are working. Deep Blue has been spared from long lines and the inherent dangers of living in the wild,” he wrote.

Padilla wants to raise awareness and help protect these magnificent creatures. New born baby great whites and pregnant females run the risk of getting caught in lines and nets in shallow waters and the illegal trade of shark teeth, jaws, and fins is sadly very lucrative.

This isn’t the first time the world has seen Deep Blue. Discovery featured the large great white in a Shark Week documentary last year.

The news of Deep Blue comes just days after the corpse of an 18-FOOT tiger shark was pulled onto a fishing boat off the coast of Australia. According to reports, Geoff Brooks posted two images of the huge predator to Facebook on Tuesday, claiming that the tiger shark was caught near Lennox Head, on the northern New South Wales coast. But, there is much debate as to exactly when and how the shark was killed.

Credit: Facebook

This Adorable Video of a Baby Otter Learning to Swim Will Make Your Day – Maybe Your Week

June 1, 2015 risahopeanimals, Chicago, conservation, cute, nature, rehabilitation, science, sea otter, Shedd Aquarium, swimming, videoLeave a comment

Baby otters are a lot of work. But, if its as cute as this little thing, its probably totally worth it! Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has a new resident; an orphaned southern otter pup known as Pup 681. Watch as her handlers try to teach her to swim 🙂 SO FLUFFY!

The tiny newborn was discovered orphaned on a California beach in September. She spent the first four weeks of her life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium trying to survive. Once her health improved, she was moved to Shedd in Chigaco.

As of November, Pup 681 weighed just under 6 pounds and was 23 inches long – and raising her hasn’t been easy! Stranded sea otter pups require extensive round-the-clock care. Six to eight animal care experts work on a rotating schedule in order to provide care and attention 24 hours a day, all week long. During this crucial period, she is taught how to develop certain behaviors, such as grooming, feeding, and foraging, as well as regulating her body temperature and swimming.

“It truly takes a village to rehabilitate a young sea otter. Our animal care team is teaching the pup how to be an otter,” said Tim Binder, vice president of Animal Collections for Shedd

Hopefully this is a chance for the world to learn a little more about the otter population, which is constantly under attack. According the the Monteray Bay Aquarium, sea otters once thrived from Baja California to the Pacific Northwest of North America through Alaskan and Russian waters and into Japan before hunters nearly exterminated them in the 1700s and 1800s. Shedd Aquarium wants Pup 681 to raise awareness and melt people’s hearts.

“This rescued animal provides an opportunity for us to learn more about the biological and behavioral attributes of this threatened species and to encourage people to preserve and protect them in the wild,” said Binder.