Category Archives: Uncategorized

A baby octopus from our lab. Very cute, but also very poisonous so no touching. We released this little one back into the ocean yesterday morning.  

I really appreciate everyone being so kind to a “non-traditional student.”  (Yes, I will be taking the exams for a grade – and am hoping for a C!  I’m pretty good at learning new things, but don’t know beans about … Continue reading →

The new ZooBot class arrived yesterday as the spring quarter gets rolling. Most of the students are from the University of Washington, but we also have visitors from Minnesota, Arizona and Taiwan. Students will take two courses, Marine Botany and … Continue reading →

The new 2010 blog can be found here

Until a week ago, I could not have told you the difference between a porpoise and a dolphin, and in fact, would have used the terms interchangeably. No longer, my friends!  I have been learninated! At the Whale Museum last … Continue reading →

Naturally, I have to talk about something from the state up North. Although there are Orcas–northern residents and transients–in Alaska, I am much more familiar with the humpbacks. Humpbacks, Megaptera novaeangliae, are pretty much the cutest thing on earth… if … Continue reading →

Red rock crab, I won’t lie, killing you made my day. Sorry, but you were a pretty agressive bugger in the tank: killing, pinching, and general bullying around. Here’s your final shot: You and your kind are found from Alaska … Continue reading →

Undoubtedly the darlings of Pacific Northwest megafauna, whales have captured our imagination for centuries.  Vicious killers, gentle grazers, awe-inspiring and reverent, whales have filled human culture with imagery and lore that persists to this day.  But are whales truly the … Continue reading →

Whale lice. Who’da thunk it? At the Whale Museum last Thursday, most of you probably noticed the display case containing various parasitic invertebrates that can sometimes cause whales a lot of grief. One of the species displayed was the parasitic … Continue reading →

It’s funny how certain animals can capture the minds and hearts of humans so effectively.  History is littered with instances where this animal was held in near god-like reverence, briefly dropping out of favor during the age when they were … Continue reading →