2016.06.23

Research and studies

DNA testing confirms birth of an artificially inseminated Southern rockhopper penguin chick - a world first for this species

Three baby Southern rockhopper penguin were born at Kaiyukan between June 4th and 6th, 2016, and are growing up healthy in the "Falkland Islands" tank, which is open to the public. DNA testing of the babies revealed that one was born through artificial insemination. This is the first successful artificial insemination of Southern rockhopper penguin in the world. In order to improve the breeding rate of Southern rockhopper penguin , Kaiyukan has been working on joint research with Hiroshi Kusunoki (Associate Professor) of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kobe University since 2011, aiming to clarify the breeding ecology and establish artificial breeding techniques. This season, the sixth year since the start of the research, we asked for cooperation from Kasai Rinkai Aquarium (Tokyo), which has a large number of birds in captivity and a track record of natural breeding. At the end of April, sperm was collected from a male at Kasai Rinkai Aquarium and artificially inseminated three female penguins being kept at Kaiyukan. The three artificially inseminated females laid a total of five eggs between April 28th and May 4th. The paired parent birds incubated the eggs for about a month, and three chicks were born between June 4th and 6th. A DNA test was conducted on the blood on the inside of the egg shells, and it was found that one of the three chicks was born through artificial insemination. In the future, Kaiyukan hopes to spread this artificial breeding technique to aquariums and zoos both in Japan and overseas to improve the breeding of penguins, as well as to establish a technique for freezing and storing sperm, thereby contributing to the preservation of the endangered wild Southern rockhopper penguin species.

2016.06.17

news

A baby California sea lion was born! ~The mother sea lion was also born at Kaiyukan~

At around 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, a baby California sea lion was born in the "Monterey Bay" tank . The mother sea lion's nickname is "Nami" (5 years old). This is her first birth. In fact, the mother sea lion "Nami" was also born at the Kaiyukan(born August 24, 2011) and has grown up healthy while being watched by many visitors. Since this is her first birth and child-rearing, she was observed to be restless and lacking in appetite, but she gradually got used to it and is raising her child well, encouraging it to breastfeed with her mouth. The baby is about 60 cm long (by eye), weighs 8.9 kg (measured on June 15), and is male. Baby sea lions are raised on their mother's breast milk for about a year after birth. Please enjoy the smiling mother and child in the "Monterey Bay" tank. Currently, "Leo" (2 years old), born in May 2014, and "Shizuku" born in June 2015, are living in the "Monterey Bay" tank. We will be closely watching over the growth of this newborn baby so that he will grow up healthily as a new member of the sea lion family.

2016.06.07

news

Three baby Southern rockhopper penguin have been born.

Three baby Southern rockhopper penguin were born. You can experience the process of raising them in the "New Experience Area" where you can watch them without being seen through glass. ■Hatching date: June 4th (Saturday), June 5th (Sunday), June 6th (Monday)■Location: "Falkland Islands"tank ▲They are being raised in pairs (left photo: female, right: male)▲They are being taken care of so much. Since 2011, Kaiyukan has been working on breeding research in collaboration with Professor Hiroshi Kusunoki of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kobe University, with the aim of establishing artificial breeding techniques for Southern rockhopper penguin. For more information, please see "Kaiyu Journal Vol. 18". This season, the sixth year since the start of the research, we received cooperation from Kasai Rinkai Aquarium (Tokyo), which has a long track record in breeding Southern rockhopper penguin, and transported semen collected from eight males to Kaiyukan while storing it at a low temperature, and artificially inseminated three females. Eggs were laid between late April and early May, and three chicks have now been born. DNA tests are currently being conducted to confirm whether the artificial breeding was successful. Southern rockhopper penguin and to contribute to maintaining and increasing the population of wild penguins, which are at risk of decline.

2015.12.04

news

You can see the extremely rare Spinetail devilray ray!

On Thursday, November 12, 2015, Spinetail devilray brought in two devil rays (one male, one female, body width approximately 1.5m) to the "Pacific Ocean" tank . There are few cases of keeping this species in Kaiyukan , and currently, Kaiyukan is the only Kaiyukan in the world where you can observe the ecology of Spinetail devilray . Currently, you can see them swimming by flapping their large fins and eating food using a distinctive part called the head fin. Since Spinetail devilray live in the open ocean, it is not known when and where they can be seen, so there are not many opportunities to observe them alive. They occasionally get lost in fixed nets off the coast of Japan, and although there have been studies of specimens, there are very few cases of them being kept in aquariums. The reason for this is that Spinetail devilray are difficult to transport because of their strong swimming ability, and large tank are required for breeding. Kaiyukan has established the "Osaka Kaiyukan Marine Biological Research Institute Iburi Center" (hereinafter "Iburi Center") in Tosashimizu City, Kochi Prefecture, and is conducting research on large marine creatures in captivity with the cooperation of local fishery workers. The Spinetail devilray is also a target species, and this time, training was provided for health management, and a large tank with a diameter of 8m was installed on the deck of the ship in which the Spinetail devilray could swim freely during the long-distance transport from Kochi Prefecture to Osaka. Kaiyukan will continue to contribute to the protection of species and environmental conservation by investigating the ecology of unknown marine creatures, and at the same time, by opening these to the public, we hope to arouse the interest of many customers in the beautiful and diverse marine creatures, and to fulfill the unique role of Kaiyukan. [About the Spinetail devilray] Japanese name: Spinetail devilray mobula English name: Spinetail mobula Scientific name: Mobula japanica Family: Mobulidae. A type of large ray that is distributed from southern Japan to the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Hawaii, it is characterized by "spool-like" head fins on both ends of its head. They live in the open ocean, swim by flapping their large wing-like fins, and when fully grown, their body width can reach up to 3m. They look similar to the commonly known manta rays (Giant Manta Ray and Alfred manta), but can be distinguished by the position and width of their mouths. The mouth of the Spinetail devilray is located on the ventral side, while the mouth of the manta ray is wider and in front of the head. There are famous manta observation points in Japan, such as in Okinawa Prefecture, but there are currently no known areas where you can reliably see Spinetail devilray, and their detailed ecology is unknown. [Key points for captive research of Spinetail devilray ] Currently, Kaiyukan is the only aquarium that has succeeded in long-term rearing of Spinetail devilray and is collecting data to clarify their ecology, but the key points that led to this result are as follows. 1. Spinetail devilray rarely get lost in fixed nets, so there are few opportunities to rear them. →We have built a cooperative system with local fishery officials and set up the Iburi Center near the fixed nets. 2. Spinetail devilray are strong swimmers, so they require large tank to rear them. →The Iburi Center is equipped with large tank(1,600t and 3,300t capacity). 3. The Spinetail devilray is difficult to transport because of its strong swimming ability. →A large tank(8m diameter, octagonal) was installed on the transport ship to allow the Spinetail devilray to swim freely. →As a result of guidance training for the Spinetail devilray, it was able to be moved safely and stress-free to the transport tank. [About captive research of the Spinetail devilray] Since the preparation period before the opening, Kaiyukan has been conducting research on marine life such as whale Whale shark in Tosashimizu City, Kochi Prefecture, where the Kuroshio Current comes ashore. In order to develop this research activity, the Iburi Center was established as a full-scale research facility in 1997, and with the cooperation of local fixed net fishing stakeholders, target organisms are collected and captive research is conducted on large marine life such as Whale shark that have strayed into fixed nets. Regarding the Spinetail devilray, full-scale efforts have been made since 2008 as a subject of captive research. Since getting lost in fixed nets is rare, and the timing and season of getting lost is not recognized, it is still impossible to predict when and under what conditions it will happen. Therefore, without close cooperation with local fishermen, it would not have been possible to collect the suddenly lost Spinetail devilray. In addition, the Iburi Center, which has a large tank , is located close to the fixed net fishing, which led to success. The Spinetail devilray currently being kept at the Kaiyukan was caught in a fixed net (operated by the Iburi Kyodo Oshiki Association) in July 2015. After being brought to a fish pen (7m x 7m x 5m deep) in Iburi Port, it was successfully fed with isazame and krill, and transferred to the tank at the Iburi Center on August 17 of the same year. Here, we started training for health management for the first time for the Spinetail devilray, and since it became possible to give vitamins and other medication by feeding it directly from our hands and to guide it safely and without stress, we also started collecting basic data such as blood characteristics. This guidance training was extremely useful for transporting the Spinetail devilray to Osaka, as they could be accommodated in a small tank without startling them. In addition, when the first successful exhibit at the Kaiyukan in 2008 was only one fish, this time there are two (one male and one female), so we hope to observe behavioral changes as they grow and the reproductive behavior of the male and female. By collecting this data, we hope to use it to preserve the species (ex situ conservation), elucidate the migratory ecology of the Spinetail devilray, and protect the habitat. [About long-distance transport of Spinetail devilray] The Iburi Center has been working on captive research of Spinetail devilray since 2008, but there were still challenges in transporting them long distances from Kochi Prefecture to Osaka. In one of the past two transports, the Spinetail devilray died during transport. There are two ways of thinking about transporting Spinetail devilray, which live in the open ocean and have high swimming ability (they swim around all the time). One is to transport them in a large transport tank while letting the Spinetail devilray swim freely. The other is to put the whale shark in a small tank the same size as its body, restricting its swimming to prevent it from colliding with the wall and suppressing its excited state. For reference, the latter method has been used to transport Whale shark, which are large and constantly swimming around, with good results. In the former case of using a large tank, the only option is to transport the tank by sea, which takes more than 20 hours from Kochi Prefecture to Osaka, and it is difficult to maintain the air and water temperature depending on the season and bad weather. For this transport, we chose to transport the sharks by sea using a large tank because there are still issues with the land transport we have used in the past and because we were transporting two devil Spinetail devilray . On the day of the transport, the sea conditions worsened, so we were unable to take the planned route across the Pacific Ocean and instead had to take the route via the Seto Inland Sea, which significantly exceeded the originally planned 22 hours, making it a long distance and long transport of about 34 hours, but we were able to bring the sharks into the "Pacific Ocean" tank in good health. [About the Ifuri Center of the Osaka Kaiyukan Kaiyukan Marine Biology Research Institute] Opened on September 24, 1997 in Ifuri, Tosashimizu City, Kochi Prefecture. A large circular tank(approximately 20m in diameter, 5m deep, and 1,600t capacity) and a research and management building were installed. The center began collecting organisms to be exhibited at the Kaiyukan Kaiyukan, conducting ecological research, and basic research on marine life in the waters around Cape Ashizuri. It raises large fish such as Whale shark, and engages in health management training and migration route surveys, as well as ecological surveys and breeding research on mysterious marine life.

2015.10.06

news

A baby King penguin was born!

On Friday, September 25th, a baby King penguin was born in the "Antarctica" tank . Date of egg laying: Friday, July 31st, 2015 *Egg length 102.0mm, width 71.0mm, weight 273.3g Date of hatching: Friday, September 25th, 2015 *56th day after egg laying, body length approx. 10cm (visual estimate), weight 186.9g Size of chick: body length approx. 15cm (visual estimate), weight 511g *As of October 6th The baby is still so small that it can only peek out from under the parent's belly. The staff will watch over it so that it will grow rapidly and we can see its cute appearance. Two Adelie penguin(June 21st and June 23rd) and a Gentoo penguin (July 20th) were born in the "Antarctica" tank , and they are both growing well.

2015.07.30

Living creature information

Gentoo penguin baby born!

Penguin baby boom at Kaiyukan ! On July 20th, a baby Gentoo penguin was born in the "Antarctica" tank . You can see the adorable appearance of the still small baby and the heartwarming rearing. Egg laying date: Wednesday, June 17th, 2015 *Egg length: approx. 73.6mm, width: approx. 53.4mm, weight: approx. 117.6g Hatching date: Monday, July 20th, 2015 *33 days after laying Chick size: Body length: approx. 12cm, weight: 346g (body length is estimated, as of July 29th) Currently, in the "Antarctica" tank, two Adelie penguin born in June are growing big. Also, a King penguin has laid eggs, and two pairs are warming the eggs in a style characteristic of King penguin, and the breeding season of the penguins continues. ▼ King penguin incubating eggs (2 pairs) The newborn Gentoo penguin babies are being raised by a pair with plenty of parenting experience. Although the egg was laid by a different individual, the priority was given to nurturing this precious life with care, so the eggs were kept in an incubator to prevent them from cracking, and then entrusted to a veteran pair just before they hatched. The two Adelie penguin babies born in June have grown to the point where they have left the nest and are beginning to wander around. King penguin also have a unique incubation behavior, as they place one egg on their feet and cover it with the loose flesh of their bellies to keep it warm.

2015.07.02

Living creature information

A baby California sea lion was born!

On the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 2015, a baby California sea lion was born in the "Monterey Bay" tank . Both mother and baby are healthy, and one hour after birth, the baby was seen nursing. The California sea lion who gave birth this time is nicknamed "Lip" (18 years old), and the father is "Monterey Bay" tank also houses "Leo" (1 year old), who was born to Sumire in May 2014. We would like to keep a close eye on the growth of the newborn baby so that he will grow up healthily as a new member of the sea lion family. [About the newborn California sea lion] Date of birth: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 Birthplace: Inside the "Monterey Bay" tank on the 7th floor of the Kaiyukan Kaiyukan Baby's information at birth: Length: Approximately 60cm (Estimated), Weight: 6.9kg (Actual), Gender: Unconfirmed [ California sea lion] English name: California sea lion Scientific name: Zalophus californianus Order: Pinnipedia Family: Otariidae. They live only on the eastern coast of the North Pacific Ocean Ocean. When fully grown, males reach a length of approximately 200cm and a weight of approximately 300kg, while females reach a length of approximately 170cm and a weight of approximately 100kg. Males are dark brown all over, while females are a slightly lighter dark brown. Their limbs are well developed, which are useful not only for swimming in the water but also for walking on land. They are polygamous, with one male leading a group of approximately 30 females and children, called a "harem." In the wild, mating season is from May to June, and the gestation period is about one year. Usually, they give birth to one baby at a time, and the baby continues to be nursed for about a year after birth. Females reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years old, and males at around 5 years old, and become involved in reproduction.

2015.06.25

Living creature information

Penguin baby boom! Adelie penguin babies were born on June 23rd!

In the "Antarctica" tank, a baby Adelie penguin was born on the 23rd, following on from the 21st! The newly hatched baby spends most of its time under its parent's tummy, so you can hardly see it, but as it grows, you will be able to see its cute appearance and the heartwarming process of raising it. A baby Adelie penguin was born on June 23rd. Its health was checked in the backyard, and it is currently being raised by its parent. [About Adelie penguin] Adelie penguin English name: Adelie penguin Scientific name: Pygoscelis adeliae Penguin family. When fully grown, it reaches a body length of about 70 cm. It is characterized by its black color from the head to the back, and a white ring (eye ring) around the eye. Females are often one size smaller than males. They live in Antarctica and the surrounding islands. In the wild, they breed from October to November, building shallow crater-shaped nests surrounded by round pebbles, and females usually lay two eggs per breeding. It eats small fish, krill, etc.

2015.06.23

Living creature information

Adelie penguin babies were born on June 21st! You can see their adorable appearance here.

On Sunday, June 21, 2015, a baby Adelie penguin was born in the "Antarctica" tank . The newly hatched baby spends most of its time under its parent's tummy, so you can hardly see it, but as it grows, you will be able to see its cute appearance and the heartwarming process of raising it. Adelie Adelie penguin collect pebbles to build nests, and males and females take turns warming the eggs, and the baby is born about 35 days later. The male and female also cooperate in raising the baby, and if the baby shows signs of being hungry, the parent feeds it by mouth. In order to check the baby's health, the baby's weight is measured every morning before opening. The baby grows quickly, and about one month after hatching, it will leave the nest and start wandering around the "Antarctica" tank . Egg-laying date: Friday, May 15, 2015 *Egg's long diameter: 69mm, short diameter: 55mm, weight: 118.8g Beak-tacking date: Saturday, June 20, 2015 *The day the baby begins to break the shell from inside the egg Hatching date: Sunday, June 21, 2015 *37th day after egg-laying. The day of egg-laying is counted as day 0. Chick size: Approximately 10cm in length (by eye), weight: 79g *Immediately after hatching About the Adelie penguin Adelie penguin : Adelie penguin Scientific name: Pygoscelis adeliae. It grows to a body length of approximately 70cm. It is characterized by its black head and back, and white rings (eye rings) around the eyes. Females are often one size smaller than males. They live in Antarctica and the surrounding islands. In the wild, they breed from October to November, building shallow crater-shaped nests surrounded by round pebbles, with females usually laying two eggs at a time. They feed on small fish and krill.

2015.06.16

Research and studies

We would like to announce the results of the "Biological Survey of the Tempozan Wharf (June 6th)"

At Kaiyukan, we regularly collect and survey the attached organisms living on the Tempozan wharf and the organisms living in the mud. On Saturday, June 7th, we also conducted a survey with the general public as part of the "2015 Osaka Bay Living Creature Survey." Here are the results. Date: Saturday, June 6th, 2015, 9:30-12:00 Survey location: Tempozan wharf on the west side of Kaiyukan Survey members: 26 general participants and 4 staff members selected in advance Survey method: Samples were collected from the attached base sunk in the wharf and from mud collected with a mud collector. Survey results: We were able to see more than 50 types of organisms, including crabs and shrimp (arthropoda), shellfish and sea slugs (mollusc). Here are some of the organisms we were able to see on the day.