Mother Nature Network

Can 1 man photograph every animal species on Earth?
National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is on a mission to photograph every species in zoos and aquariums — and help save them in the process.

Baby beluga is a girl
The new calf is developing well, playing with her mother and interacting with the other beluga whales at the Chicago-based aquarium.

Shark performs surgery, saves baby sharks from disaster
The rare event happened in front of amazed spectators at a New Zealand aquarium.

Photo of the day: Adorable goldfish flashes a human-like smile
A goldfish smiles for the camera while swimming amongst dozens of other fish inside the “Art Aquarium,” an aquatic art installation designed by aquarist Hidetomo Kimura that will be on display in Tokyo from Aug. 17 until Sept. 24.

An indoor goldfish garden
Want to meld your love of greenery and aquatic life with a koi pond but don’t have the space to do it? Here’s an intriguing solution: A 2-in-1 planter and fishbowl.

Photo of the day: A beluga whale clutches a soccer ball in its mouth on May 30 while playing inside a tank at the Beijing Aquarium. Belugas, or white whales, are sociable and playful creatures, making them popular among aquarium visitors. This threatened species was among the first type of whale to be placed in captivity. However, captive breeding programs have rarely been successful and the recent death of a newborn beluga at the Georgia Aquarium has raised questions about the health of marine animals in captivity.

ichthyologist:

Flatfish found in aquarium after lying undiscovered for 15 years

The bottom-dwelling sand sole - dubbed Nemo - was only discovered when its 40,000-litre open native rockpool tank was routinely cleaned at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.

But despite being quite a large fish, staff think the fish may have been a stowaway when the tank was delivered in 1996 as they had no records of the flatfish having arrived at the aquarium .

Acting curator Colin Grist said: ‘We’ve called him Nemo, because we’ve found him, just like in the film - except we didn’t know we were looking.

‘Although we haven’t been aware of its existence it seems to have been doing extremely well.

‘It’s in perfect condition and has obviously been feeding well and probably waiting until the lights go out to go hunting.

He added: ‘It’s extraordinary that it’s managed to have remained hidden for so long but it does go to show just how well evolved it is to its natural environment.’

metro
Picture: Caters

Save the whales (from pop music)
Everyone knows beluga whales love mariachi music. But how do they feel about Katy Perry and Lady Gaga?

According to Dan Mathews, senior vice president for PETA, they’re not fans. In a Huffington Post op-ed — and now a formal complaint — Mathews describes how he watched belugas suffer from “earsplitting” music played at the Georgia Aquarium last weekend, where he was attending a party for the Atlanta Pride Festival.

Read more.