The End of an Exhibit

Just hours after closing the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s popular “Wild About Otters” special exhibition, workers erect temporary walls and a flurry of activity descends. Where visitors once stood, now there’s only dust, piles of debris and a steady stream of Aquarium staff packing boxes and pushing hand trucks.

In the space of a few days, close to 1,000 individuals—mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates and plants—will be on their way to new homes. It’s time to make way for the Aquarium’s next special exhibition—“Hot Pink Flamingoes: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea”—and there’s no time to lose.

But what happens when an exhibit ends? Where do all the animals, plants and props go?

The process of finding homes for the animals starts six months in advance, when the Aquarium puts out the call to other member institutions of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ “Species Survival Plan.” It’s a cooperative effort among institutions to ensure the survival of threatened and endangered wildlife.

Once the call goes out, it takes just a week for the husbandry staff to receive dozens of responses from institutions looking to start new exhibits or augment existing ones. This is followed by hundreds of e-mails, permit applications, veterinary health checks and cross-border logistical hurdles. In the end, animals fan out to a dizzying array of institutions, including The Minnesota Zoo, the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory (also in Minnesota); the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Southern California, the Houston Zoo in Texas, the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium in Pennsylvania, the Toledo Zoo in Ohio, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, the Cal Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco and the San Diego Zoo. In addition, two river otters went to the New Forest Otter, Owl and Wildlife Park in England.

All things considered, it’s a remarkable system. Animals are passed from institution to institution, under strict guidelines, maximizing exposure for visitors and helping to ensure the health, well being and longevity of the animals themselves. The cost to the institution on the receiving end for all this care and attention? Just shipping fees. The exchange, by design, is free.

Through the years, the Aquarium has also been on the receiving end of this vast exchange. For instance, the Malayan box turtle, which the Aquarium inherited from the Oregon Coast Aquarium, is now happily on his way to a third institution: the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Wielding a clipboard and talking frequently into a hand-held radio, Veronica Franklin, senior aquarist, is assigning tasks to fellow husbandry staff and generally putting order to the whole process.  It may look hectic, but it’s all precisely choreographed. Husbandry staff rush about carrying boxes, kennels and other equipment. Sheets of paper are tacked to the wall, providing a roadmap for every species and their destinations. Christine DeAngelo, associate curator of mammals, oversees the transition for the African spotted-necked otters and Asian small-clawed otters.

The closing of an exhibit is a rare opportunity for the husbandry staff to come together, all-hands fashion, and they’re enjoying themselves. Music from a strategically placed boom box filters through the wreckage. There’s a steady supply of Snickers bars and snacks to fuel the entire operation. One day, staffers from the Aquarium of the Pacific drive through the night and arrive at 4 a.m.—like clockwork, Aquarium staff are there to meet them and ensure a safe transfer.

“It’s a different day—a fun day,” says Brianne Fitzgerald, associate curator of fish and invertebrates. “It’s all hands on deck, and there aren’t many opportunities to do that. And it’s exciting to know that other institutions will benefit.”

Of all the exhibit animals involved in this great exodus, the fish use the simplest mode of transport: FedEx. In the middle of one of the former exhibit galleries, Scott Reid, associate curator of fish and invertebrates, carefully places a few of the small, tropical specimens in a plastic bag. Next, he pushes all the air out, and closes the top of the bag around a nozzle that supplies pure oxygen, so the fish “have plenty of air for the trip.”

The whole thing is wrapped in a second bag, and tightly sealed in a box labeled “Live Aquarium Fish: Handle with Care. Rush.” Overnight, the fish will be on their way to new homes.

This system may be surprising to the uninitiated, but it’s has proven itself over decades of use--the fish invariably arrive safe and sound.

Nearly everything—from cages, to artificial plants, and even leftover food—gets transferred, re-used or recycled.  At one point, the local SPCA truck pulls up and hauls away holding tanks and cages to house rehabilitated wildlife. Freshwater plants are donated to the San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society. Even a box of toys finds a home, at the Long Marine Laboratory in Santa Cruz, for the benefit of the institution’s dolphins and sea lions.

A week later, where an exhibit once stood, there’s only piles of debris. The aquarists and the animals are gone, leaving construction crews and contractors to tidy up what remains.

For the husbandry staff, who have made the exhibit a labor of love, it can be hard to see it come down in just a few afternoons. “It’s been two-plus years,” says Veronica. “It’s sad to see it go.”

But already, animals are arriving for the Aquarium’s new exhibit, and any trace of sadness will soon be replaced by the demands of caring for a new set of animals. “Once that gets going, the excitement will kick in,” says Veronica.

Plus, there’s the satisfaction of knowing that over 1,000 plants and animals were safely placed into new homes across the country. “Wild About Otters was a great adventure that not only taught the public, but it taught some of us how great it is to work with freshwater species,” says Veronica.

“I sure hope we’re able to do something similar to this exhibit in the future.”

 

Comments

[Ann]

Just another example of why MBA is world class!

[Tama Olver]

Thanks for a great peek behind the scenes.

[Adam]

Nice write up Geoff--it's nice to be able to get a peek behind the construction walls and to see the hidden bits of the ebb and flow of ever-changing exhibitions. Do you think there are any Snickers bars left?