Due to popular demand, Secrets of the Swamp to remain open through April!

The National Aquarium in Washington, DC announced today that due to popular demand, they will be extending the stay of their albino alligator, Oleander, and the Secrets of the Swamp exhibit until April 29, 2012.

Oleander is an extremely rare albino alligator that was hatched in Louisiana and is a permanent resident of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in Florida. Fewer than 100 of these extraordinary species exist worldwide due to the many environmental challenges that they face. Albinism is a genetic lack of melanin pigment in eyes and skin, resulting in the alligator’s unusual translucent scales and pinkish eyes. Albino alligators are very sensitive to sunlight, and because of their inability to blend in with their surroundings, they create unwanted attention to themselves from predators. This leaves albino alligators with an extremely low survival rate in the wild.

Oleander came to the National Aquarium in Washington, DC, in October and was originally scheduled to depart this month but because of her tremendous popularity, the National Aquarium decided to extend her stay until the end of April.

“It seems that the public just cannot get enough of Oleander,” said Bob Ramin, Chief Development Officer of the National Aquarium and Executive Director of the National Aquarium in Washington, DC. “This additional time gives those who didn’t have the opportunity before to come in and meet her.”

Shortly after Oleander’s arrival, the public got to take part in naming her through a contest facilitated over their social media channels. Over 550 people participated in the naming contest. An oleander is a flowering shrub, native to Louisiana and the southern region of the US. In addition to sharing the same home state, this plant and alligator have very similar qualities: they are both unique and beautiful, yet they can both be dangerous.

The exhibit is free with the cost of admission to the aquarium. Public alligator feedings occur every Friday at 2:00pm. National Aquarium husbandry staff provides visitors with an educational lesson on the lives and habits of alligators and an up-close demonstration of how alligators are target trained to respond to colors in connection with their feedings.

Visitors can also see Oleander during Reptile and Amphibian Day on February 25th! This event will celebrate the many reptiles and amphibians at the aquarium, with activities, presentations and interactions. All activities are included with general admission to the National Aquarium in Washington, DC.
Click here to learn more about Reptile and Amphibian Day!

Washington, DC – February 14 – The National Aquarium is excited to introduce the Fresh Thoughts: Sustainable Seafood Dining Series at its Washington D.C. venue this March. This new series will celebrate sensible and scrumptious seafood choices with the help of renowned Washington DC chefs. The first of the dining experiences will introduce a fish whose taste is distinctive as its story; the invasive Red Lionfish. As part of a growing stategy coined Eat ‘Em to Beat ‘Em, the National Aquarium will embark on a week-long trip to the Bahamas on February 20, 2011 with Chef Xavier Deshayes, Executive Chef for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, to collect, prepare and ship the fish that will be served just days later at the Aquarium’s first Fresh Thoughts dinner.

Earlier this week, the National Aquarium welcomed Major League Soccer to Baltimore during a special event in the Marine Mammal Amphitheater. The event was a preview to the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, which is being held at the Baltimore Convention Center January 13 and 14.

Baltimore, January 5, 2010 – Baltimore Ravens fans can celebrate the Ravens playoff victories with a trip to the Aquarium! The National Aquarium is supporting the Baltimore Ravens playoff run with a special $5 discount on Purple Fridays! All fans wearing purple who present the Purple Friday coupon to the ticket center on Purple Fridays will receive $5 off total experience tickets between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The discount will be valid every Friday in January as long as the Ravens advance to the next round of the playoffs.

(Washington, DC, December 21, 2010) — Save the sharks is the message in the nation’s capital this week as thousands of letters collected from visitors to the National Aquarium, Washington were personally delivered in sacks by syndicated cartoonist and Aquarium partner Jim Toomey to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA) Assistant Administrator Eric Schwaab. Additional efforts to protect sharks mounted this week on Capitol Hill as both the Senate and House passed the Shark Conservation Act, sponsored by Senator John Kerry (D-MA).