Aquarium of the Americas

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Aquarium of the Americas

Gulf of Mexico Exhibit
Date opened	1990
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
# of Animals	10,000
# of Species	530
Accreditations/ Memberships	AZA
Website
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The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is a renowned aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Recognized as one of the leading aquariums in the United States, the Aquarium of the Americas is run by the Audubon Institute, which also supervises the Audubon Zoo and Audubon Park (in a different part of the city). The Aquarium is located along the banks of the Mississippi River by the edge of the historic French Quarter off Canal Street and opened in 1990.

With 10,000 animals representing 530 species, exhibits include the Mississippi River gallery, featuring catfish, paddlefish, and alligators; a Caribbean reef exhibit featuring a clear, 30-foot-long tunnel surrounded by aquatic creatures; and a Gulf of Mexico exhibit featuring sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays.

The Aquarium of the Americas also hosts an IMAX theater.

1 Exhibits Tour
2 Katrina damage and aftermath
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links
6 Headline text

[edit] Exhibits Tour

The first part of the Aquarium takes you on a journey through the Caribbean. You enter through the 30 foot tunnel surrounded by 17 ft of water which is approximately 132,000 gallons of water.

You then head upstairs to the Amazon Exhibit. This is located in a glass structure that gives the Aquarium an original and noticeable flair. The humidity, mist, and noise all adds the authenticity of this exhibit. Some of the highlights of this area are the Parrots, Anaconda, and Piranhas.

You then enter Living in Water Exhibit. This is a corridor filled with exhibits like the Bonnet Head Sharks, Sea Horses, and the infamous Nemo and Dory from "Finding Nemo." However the main attraction is that of the African black-footed penguins and Rockhopper penguins who always steal the shows. In Seahorses, you'll learn interesting facts and encounter all kinds of incredible creatures like the sea dragons whose flowing appendages conjure thoughts of mystical sea monsters. There are only 32 known species of seahorses and they live in some of the world's most threatened habitats--as their habitats decline, so do their populations. The entire penguin colony survived Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and was evacuated to Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. On May 22, 2006 they returned home with the sea otters safe on the wings of FedEx to Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

Now you enter Doc's Lab a hands on experience where you can touch Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, Horse Shoe Crabs, Snails, and the highly popular rocks (kids love them).

Now on to the Otters section, hosted by Buck and Emma the two Sea Otters. Two lively Southern sea otters. The two sea otters came from Monterey Bay Aquarium in California when they became unable to live on their own in the wild.

The Newest addition to the Aquarium will be Adventure Island, a high-tech informative look into sea life. Featuring a pirate ship, stage, shark touch pool, and the stingray touch pool (all the stingers or "barbs" will be removed.) Many of the other feature are still undisclosed.

The Mississippi Gallery is next. It is unique in that they have one of just 18 rare white alligators found in a Louisiana swamp in 1987. Affectionately called Spots, he is white but he is not albino. He is LEUCISTIC; a gene mutation gives him his white color and steely blue eyes. Goodwill ambassadors from Louisiana, Spots and his brothers are celebrities the world over! They’ve appeared on many news and entertainment programs including the Tonight Show, CNN, Today Show, Nashville Network, and CBS Morning News.

And last but not least we have the Gulf of Mexico Exhibit which is the largest Exhibit in the Aquarium with 400,000 gallons of water and rising to a height of 17ft. Protecting this exhibit is 11 inches of Acrylic, a glass substitute beneficial for its strength and the fact that it does not distort the image of the animals due to its thickness. It contains 3 species of shark: Sand Tiger Shark, Brown Shark, and Nurse Shark, as well as many smaller fish. It also has several of the largest tarpon in captivity.

[edit] Katrina damage and aftermath

In 2005, the facilities were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Though the structure survived the initial hurricane and was on high ground above the subsequent flooding of most of the city, electricity outages continued and the backup power generators were unable to fully operate the sophisticated life support systems needed to keep the animals alive. Aquarium staffers were forced to evacuate the facility due to civil unrest in the area only to return four days later to discover that most of the 10,000 fish did not survive.^[1]^[2]

The aquarium reopened on May 26, 2006. They are currently running an Adopt-an-Animal program to solicit funds for rebuilding. Since Hurricane Katrina, the Aquarium has improved, adding more species in their Caribbean and jellyfish exhibits, as well as a large revamp to the Gulf of Mexico tank.^[3]