Fishy Friends

This gallery contains 6 photos. Here are some more fishy friends I met over a few visits to the Vancouver Aquarium. My photos actually turned out somewhat respectably, given the low light; fast moving subjects; lack of 

Getting Chummy with Chester

Chester is the latest permanent resident at the Vancouver Aquarium. He’s a young False Killer Whale who was spotted alone, motherless, podless, injured, and stranded on North Chesterton Beach, British Columbia, a year 

Japanese Sea Nettles

This gallery contains 3 photos. While not as large as their Pacific cousins, Japanese sea nettles are still a big draw at the Vancouver Aquarium. Especially when they congregate in a smack (the proper term of venery) like this one.

Steller Sea Lions

This gallery contains 4 photos. Why we didn’t hear these muscled pinnipeds (and there are four of them) on our previous visit is a mystery. This one certainly knows how to ham it up for the camera. Photographed December 7 at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Wildlife Up Close: Ringed Teal Ducks

Definitely not ducks you’d see in a Metro Vancouver pond are these Ringed Teals — South American natives — at the Vancouver Aquarium. We saw about 6-7 drakes in the Amazonian exhibit. There were no females of their kind present — so even if these guys had managed to fly outside, no (non-hybridized) breeding population could be established. Photographed December 7.

Wildlife Up Close: Northern Sea Otters

This gallery contains 4 photos. Sea otters may be cute, but they are also constantly on the move — which makes them difficult to capture through glass, reflections, and water. But once in a while, they’ll “paws” and shoot you a melt-your-heart look at the right moment, like this one did, in the middle of its lunch. Photographed December 7 at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Green with Envy

An emerald tree boa — aptly named for its gorgeous green colouration — coils up on a tree limb and naps under the heat lamp, just outside the Amazonian exhibit at the Vancouver Aquarium. We came by several times to see if this magnificent creature had changed position or opened its eyes — but it hadn’t done either! Photographed December 7.

Don’t Call Us Flipper …

This gallery contains 4 photos. … we’re girls. A pair of Pacific white-sided dolphins perform at the Vancouver Aquarium in front of a rapt and packed audience on July 6.

Lynda Mariposas! (Pretty Butterflies!)

This gallery contains 2 photos. Two different species of tropical (Costa Rican) free-flying butterflies in the Amazon exhibit. Photographed at the Vancouver Aquarium on July 6. First up: heliconius cydno galanthus, aka, the Cydno Longwing. That curly protrusion is its tongue!