Saturday, July 25, 2009

Monterey Bay Aquarium - seahorse exhibition

Last Thursday I took my parents to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is my favorite aquarium in the whole world. I have been there more than five times during past two years even though: (1) it takes at least two hours to get there from SF, (2) I do not have a car, (3) the entrance price is pretty high - 30$ per person.

The highlight of this visit to the aquarium was the newly opened exhibition The Secret Lives of Seahorses. There are more than 15 species of seahorses featured in this exhibit and all of them are absolutely delightful to look at. You can see that for yourself at the photos below. Forgive me the poor quality of the photos - the seahorse exhibit is not well lit and it is forbidden to use flash photography.

Leafy Seadragon and part of Weedy Seadragon in the background:


Dwarf seahorse:


Ribbon pipehorse:


Other seahorses which names I do not recall:






Other great exhibit at the aquarium is the Jellyfish exhibit:


I can spend hours watching The Kelp Forest. Here are my parents in front of it:


But Sea otters are the most adorable:






There are also many interesting fish like those flatfish that change color as to match their environment:




Or these fish with interesting hairstyles: