Action for Animals is a FREE, 17-stop, self-guided audio tour for you to listen to during your visit. You choose the order and the pace to learn about some of our favorite animals, the challenges these species face in the wild and the steps you can take to help protect these magnificent creatures.
Little blue penguins are native to Australia and New Zealand and are the smallest of the world’s penguins. The declining population and range of little blues is directly linked to human encroachment, predation from foxes, dogs and cats, and competition of food from commerical fisheries.
There are seven species of sea turtles and nearly all of them are endangered. As the amount of marine plastics rises, so does the threat to these endangered species. Since sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and fishing nets as sea grasses, these animals unfortunately suffer from ingestion, suffocation, or entanglement that could lead to lifelong injury, starvation, and death.
Like sharks, rays are in jeopardy due to pollution, entanglement, overfishing, accidental catch, and habitat loss from coastal development. As of today, just 15 percent of land and 7 percent of our oceans are protected worldwide. Top scientists say the best way to slow the effects of climate change and save our planet's biodiversity is to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030.
Frogs are important to an ecosystem’s health, because they are considered “bioindicators.” They allow scientists to know just how healthy an environment is. If frogs are disappearing from an environment where they used to exist, this is an indicator that a particular environment isn’t healthy and might need our help.
Axolotls live their an entire life underwater, and were known to be native to a series of lakes throughout the Mexican Central Valley. Due to water pollution, habitat destruction, human encroachment, and the introduction of invasive fish species, the axolotl is critically endangered in the wild.
Home to 4,000 fish species, 800 species of coral, and hundreds of other species of invertebrates, coral reefs provide the most diverse and valuable ecosystem on Earth. Unfortunately, corals are the victim of ocean acidification and an unidentified pathogen that is causing stony coral tissue loss disease. In 2019, Adventure Aquarium became the second institution in the country to rescue corals from Florida’s Coral Reef Tract. Our biologists are hard at work behind the scenes caring for these corals, and providing a safe environment for them to grow.
African grey parrots are one of the most intelligent species on the planet. Highly social, they congregate in large flocks in their native range in central Africa. Sadly, this makes them easy targets for poachers who collect these birds by the hundreds to funnel into the illegal wildlife trade. African grey parrots are listed as “endangered” by the IUCN’s Red List.
Overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices are among the greatest threats facing marine biodiversity. Many top ocean predators, like billfish, tunas and sharks, are experiencing unprecedented population declines worldwide. In fact, recent estimates suggest that populations of many large sharks have declined by more than 90 percent in areas where they were once abundant. This is why Adventure Aquarium supports AZA SAFE to save sharks and rays from extinction.
Thank you for taking the time to learn how you can make a difference in the lives of sharks, sea turtles, African penguins, axolotls, and more! We are passionate at Adventure Aquarium about ensuring the survival of all animal species, and love teaching our guests about how they can make an impact on our environment.
