AboutOrchids

There’s much more to the California Academy of Sciences than a rainforest. As one of one the nation’s preeminent natural history museums, it also features an extensive aquarium, a planetarium, a living roof, and even a small penguin colony.  This post highlights some of the creatures living in the museum.

Starting in the aquarium, the Leopard Shark in the first photo is native to local waters. Next, a Leafy Seadragon resembles a floating plant, but is actually a seahorse relative. Black-footed Penguins are native to the southern coasts of Africa, the only penguins which live on the continent.

Within the rainforest exhibit, birds and butterflies fly around the human visitors. The other critters are inside tanks or behind glass, so there’s no need to worry about an accidental encounter with a tiny poisonous frog.

While butterflies are free to flutter in the 4-story rainforest, a colorful flying snake is safely contained behind glass. These species not only engage visitors, but are also part of research and educational programs taking place at the Academy.

Explore posts in the same categories: Misc, Photos

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 5th, 2013 at 5:30 am and is filed under Misc, Photos.

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