Yuri Alexyevich Gagarin, "Columbus of the Cosmos"

Yuri Alexyevich Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut.  He was the first human in space and is often referred to as "the Columbus of the Cosmos".   His spacecraft Vostok-1 orbited the Earth on April 12, 1961 for the duration of 108 minutes.   Yuri's Night, usually celebrated on April 12^th celebrates this historic first flight.

Yuri's Night also celebrates another April 12^th anniversary notable in the annals of space travel.  Twenty years after Yuri Gagarin's historic flight, the first NASA space shuttle flight, STS-1 was launched into space.  STS is short for Space Transportation System.  NASA names each flight STS with the chronological number after it.  STS-1 was launched on April 12, 1981; the shuttle orbited the earth 37 times during a 54.5 hour mission.

Since 1961, our interest in space and the exploration of its depths has magnified.  Recently NASA launched the Kepler mission.  On March 7^th, 2009, the Kepler Mission successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.  Kepler, which is a specialized telescope, was designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars within a "habitable zone". A habitable zone is an orbit around a star that would enable a planet to formulate and upkeep an atmosphere and the ability for water to form in pools on the planet's surface.  Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life.  Thus from the nascent flight of orbiting our own Earth, space travels has evolved to look amongst other start.  This progress is certainly something worthy of celebration!

An exhibit on the Kepler Mission along with other NASA initiatives like SOFIA, LCROSS and NLSI fascinated guests last Thursday night.  For one guest, meeting Buzz Aldrin in person was the highlight of his night.   My favorite aspect of the evening was a 3-D rendered tour of the moon and neighboring space.  I am anxious to see what will be the new annal of space exploration when April 12^th and Yuri's Night comes around again in 2010.

Academy visitors can also ask questions about Academy exhibits or natural history. One day, when I was working in the Naturalist Center, a woman asked if squirrels eat bark and if so are they particularly fond of citrus bark? With a bit of research, we found out that some California-native squirrels indeed do eat bark and are fond of citrus trees. Below are some of the questions asked recently in the naturalist center, their corresponding answers as well as links to relevant fact sheets.

Q: Why is the green iguana orange? What do you feed it? (Visitor)

A: According to an Academy aquarium biologists, when males reach sexual maturity their coloring will turn orange. It's more hormonal than dietary, however diet can slightly influence color. The Academy has a male that is roughly three years old. He was rescued from a flea market as a baby in very poor condition. He is fed primarily greens (dandelion, collard, arugula) and small amounts of green beans, sweet potato, yellow squash, mango, berries, banana, papaya, cactus, and flowers along with a vitamin/calcium supplement.

Q: What is a hyrax?

A: A hyrax is related to the manatee and dugong and is the closest living relative of the elephant. More information is given on hyraxes in this fact sheet: www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/hyrax

Q: What is the wattage of the lights that are above the rainforest dome?

A: The electrician in the Academy noted that they are 1000 and 2000 watt bulbs.

Q: How much does the roof weigh?

A: It weighs between 2.7 and 2.8 million pounds not including the steel and concrete. More specific information is given on the Living Roof Fact Sheet: http://www.calacademy.org/newsroom/releases/2007/living_roof_fact_sheet.php

Q: How many African Penguins are in an average colony?

A: The number varies greatly and there is no true average. There are colonies with as few as 240 breeding pairs and one that was as high as 55,000 at one time. African penguin numbers have declined worldwide at an alarming rate in recent years. Decline in numbers is due to threats that range from oil spills to feral cats. Food availability and prime breeding territory are major factors in colony size as well. Today, there are an estimated 50,000 total breeding pairs worldwide. More information is given on African penguins in this fact sheet: http://combine.cs.bris.ac.uk/opencms/opencms/Richards_Homepage/My_Research/AfricanPenguin.html

photo by Andrew McCormick, Graphic Designer at the Academy

The swamp tank was an iconic feature of the old academy complete with a seahorse railing. It has been recreated with some additional touches. There is now a viewing window from the aquarium level so guests have the opportunity to either look down at the swamp's inhabitants or get eye level with them in the aquarium. For months, we have seen this tank filled and drained to test water quality. Last week the tank was filled and readied for animals.

Two large coolers were brought in filled with water and specimens. A host of aquarium staff took turns catching catfish and crayfish out of the coolers and transplanting them into the swamp by way of ladder. The swamp tank has no entrance so the only way to get animals transplanted in the tank is either ladder or crane. The crane has been tested numerous times with weight bags for larger animals. Last week the crane transported live cargo for the first time. The alligator snapping turtles were given a physical on the floor, complete with cutting of toenails and then were hoisted into the tank by crane. As exciting as it was seeing the turtles and fish acclimate to their new home, staff came out in bunches before noon today to see the final additions.

Two alligators came in the back entrance of the Academy around 11am this morning. They were individually carted in wooden crates. The female was taken out of her box first with many aquarium staff on hand for safety. The Academy vet and animal health staff gave the alligator a quick physical and herded her back into the wooden box for final transport. Her box was then fitted onto the crane by half of the attending staff while the other half of staff readied the male alligator for his physical. The male came out fighting and it took quite a bit of staff to restrain him. Staff let out a collective yelp when seeing him, as he is an albino alligator and the white of his skin was striking.

After both physicals, the alligators were housed back in their crates & they were hoisted one by one into the swamp. An alligator handler was waiting in the tank to steer the crates and coax the alligator out of it once it was set down. He unhooked two of the ropes securing the crane and lifted up the back of the crate so each alligator could slide easily in to the water. The female went into the water with no hiccups but the male took more coaxing. Even with lifting the back of the crate, he wasn't budging initially. But with a steep incline for the crate, he eventually slipped into the water. Collective cheers and clapping occurred when both alligators were in the tank. The audience of staff had been safely watching the whole episode from the catwalks above the tank. All in all, the whole transport from truck to tank took two hours.