Mystic Aquarium is off I-95 exit 90 at 55 Coogan Blvd. The aquarium is home to more than 5,000 marine animals, including penguins, sharks, colorful reef fish, turtles, dart frogs, rare blue lobsters and beluga whales. Interactive hands-on exhibits allow visitors to touch a shark or cownose ray and feed a stingray. The Exploration: Wild exhibit explores ecosystems from around the world, offering a closer look at such environments as the wetlands, Arctic, desert and rainforest. Penguin and whale encounter programs are available.

Below: Did Karen Duquette scare the fish mailbox???

Sea lions are characterized by external ear flaps, long fore flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. The sea lions have six extant and one extinct species (the Japanese sea lion) in five genera. Their range extends from the sub arctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the notable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

They have an average life span of 20 – 30 years. A male California sea lion weighs on average about 660 pounds and is about 8-feet) long, while the female sea lion weighs 220 pounds and is 6 feet long. The largest sea lions are Steller's sea lions, which can weigh 2,200 pounds) and grow to a length of 10 feet.

Sea lions consume large quantities of food at a time and are known to eat about 5 – 8% of their body weight, or
15 – 35 pounds at a single feeding. Sea lions can move around 18 mph in water and at their fastest they can reach a speed of about 35 mph.

Male sea lions average around 770 pounds and 8 feet in length. Females average 176 - 220 pounds and up to 6 feet in length. Their diet is octopus, squid, herring, mackerel, rockfish, shellfish, cod, flounder, sculpting, and salmon. Their natural habitat is rocky/sandy coastal islands and mainland shorelines. They prefer to lay out ion sandy beaches, but will use marina docks, boat docks, jetties, and buoys. They usually live on the West Coast of the U.S., as far north as Vancouver, BC and as far south as Baja, CA in Mexico.

Beluga Whale's average range in size is between 12-15 feet and 1600-2500 pounds in weight. That is around the same weight as a male American Bison. Their diet is fish squid, octopus, shrimp, crab, marine worms and large zooplankton.

Below: A turtle by the Lily Pond

Below: Nemo submarine

Below: Colorful fish

Below: Jellies

Below: The body of an alligator gar is torpedo-shaped, usually brown or olive colored, fading to a lighter gray or yellow ventral surface. It is a ray-finned fish, being most closely related to the bowfins. It is the largest species in the gar family, and is among the largest freshwater fish in North America. The fossil record traces its group's existence back to the Early Cretaceous over 100 million years ago. Gars are often referred to as "primitive fishes" or "living fossils", because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors, such as a spiral valve intestine, which is also common to the digestive system of sharks, and the ability to breathe in both air and water. Their common name was derived from their resemblance to the American alligator, particularly their broad snouts and long, sharp teeth. It is suggested that an alligator gar can grow up to 10 feet in length.

Below: cute signs

Below: A Blue Lobster

Below: One of the most notable differences between seahorses and seadragons is that seadragons have small leaf-like appendages on their bodies that provide camouflage among lush kelp forests and seaweed. Seadragons are often more colorful than seahorses with bright yellows, purples, blues and reds on their body and appendages. Both seahorses and seadragons have a head and neck that look like a horse, and long tube-like snouts to catch minuscule prey like plankton, small shrimp or crustaceans. Their bodies are also covered in segmented bony armor for protection against predators.

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