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At first glance, you might think that people don’t have a lot in common with Crush and her species, Charadrius nivosus. After all, humans can’t fly (at least, not unassisted) and human adults are pretty much guaranteed to weigh more than two slices of sandwich bread (or about 2 ounces, which is where adults of this species typically tip the scales). As it turns out, though, we share a lot of common ground!

Meet the Seattle Aquarium’s latest SEAlebrity: Singa the red lionfish! Singa means “lion” in Indonesian, which is fitting because this species is native to the warm, beautiful waters of the Indo-Pacific. At the Aquarium, you can find Singa in our Tropical Pacific habitat. 

Sharks and rays are vanishing at an alarming rate due to fishing and habitat loss. When these keystone species disappear, their entire ecosystems collapse. For over two years, the Seattle Aquarium has been part of a global coalition devoted to changing the story and “resharking” the ocean.

Senior Aquarist Chris Van Damme gingerly holds one end of a herring when feeding Elliott and the other Pacific spiny dogfish at the Aquarium. Dogfish—who are just as enthusiastic about meals as their furry namesakes—can chomp through their food with astonishing speed and force. As Chris shares in our interview, it’s just one of the many reasons these creatures inspire awe and affection from their caretakers.

It’s fair to say that Senior Aquarist Alan Tomita knows more about porcupinefish than most people. An expert on tropical fish, he’s worked at the Seattle Aquarium for more than three decades. In this Q&A, Alan shares insights from his years spent caring for porcupinefish.

We recently shared an amazing array of fascinating facts about sea otters (here’s a fave: they have up to 10 times more hairs in a square inch of fur than you have on your entire head!). Now we’re going to take a deep dive with our own Sekiu and her “roomie,” Mishka. Our own Caroline Hempstead, lead animal care specialist for sea otters, gave us some great, insider-only details about this dynamic duo—as well as what it took for her to land her dream job as their caretaker.

En una nueva campaña desarrollada y producida por la organización sin fines de lucro Sachamama, el Acuario de Seattle participa junto a otros importantes vecinos de Seattle involucrados en esfuerzos para afrentar las amenazas a la salud de Puget Sound, y el impacto que esas amenazas podrían tener en la vitalidad y economía de nuestras comunidades.

Through a new campaign developed and produced by the nonprofit Sachamama, the Seattle Aquarium is featured alongside other prominent locals engaged in efforts to address threats to the health of Puget Sound—and the impact those threats could have on the vitality of our communities and economy.

With their bulbous bodies, large eyes and beak-like teeth, porcupinefish stand out from the crowd. But there’s more to these quirky fish than meets the eye. Test your ability to parse porcupinefish fact from “fishin.’”

Stand in our Underwater Dome for a few minutes, and you might catch a glimpse of the Pacific spiny dogfish living there. How much do you know about this nimble, fierce and yet understated fish? Sink your teeth into our quiz to find out.

How many hairs do you have on your head? Most humans have about 100,000, give or take a few. But sea otters have anywhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 hairs per square inch of skin—meaning that one inch of a sea otter’s fur has between five and 10 times the number of hairs you have on your entire head!

The Clean Seas Research Program at the Seattle Aquarium is thrilled to announce the start of environmental testing and our role as scientists and one of two testing sites for The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale.