Babies being born!!!

I found two articles on Yahoo News that announced the births of two rare animals.

A female giant manta ray was born at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium on Saturday. This is the first manta birth in captivity. According to the Japanese sources, "the baby manta, rolled up like a tube, came sliding out of the mother manta, then quickly spread its fins and began swimming around." Her wing-span was recorded to be 6 feet wide. The baby manta's mother was pregnant for 374 days! Yay for adult and baby rays! See the article here.

The aquarium was featured on a Discovery Channel program and is the second largest in the world. They are probably most popular for their tank with surviving whale sharks. Sounds cool and hopefully I can go someday! I love aquariums... I've been to quite a few around the world.

My favorite is the Maui Ocean Center, not because I'm from there; they have scalloped hammer head sharks, green turtles, and a great array of aquatic life, including amazing corals. They also have a tiger shark! When I saw it coming straight at me through the glass I had a 'sense of impending doom' as they call it in EMS. It wasn't like the others and instilled fear in me immediately. It turned and I recognized it right away. I like sharks so it was an exhilarating scary experience. I also like the Seattle aquarium. The aquarium in Melbourne, VIC, Australia was cool... they have the leafy sea dragon seahorse thing because they're only found off the of western and southern coasts of Oz! Oregon's in Newport is okay, but I usually go when the weather's not the nicest. Honestly though, not my fav. The one in Boston was neat; it was one of the first in it's style. I think the aquarium on Oahu (Waikiki) was designed after Boston. I'm sure I've been to more but I can't think of them...

An endangered turtle, Sacalia bealei, was born at the Tennessee Aquarium. This adorable little reptile is called a "Beal's four-eyed turtle, named for two white spots on the back of its head that look like a pair of eyes, hatched from a clutch of three eggs. The turtle weighed 0.21 ounces and was 1.52 inches long when it hatched June 9." There are only 18 of these turtles in the world. Their population was decimated in their native lands in Asia because they're apparently tasty and have medicinal properties. Read about this little dude here. Look at his little claws and adorable tail! I want one!