As you approach the building, the first thing you see is a water feature with two huge tanks containing North American freshwater fish. It's a beautiful construction.
The fish are varied and easy to observe. As one tank spills into the next, the flow of water finally takes you to a bronze sculpture of three river otters.
It's a beautiful sculpture, but it leads me to this observation. Why do zoos spend money on bronze animals? The Maryland Zoo @ Baltimore has dozens of bronze statuary of animals. When you first enter that park, a pair of lions greets you, and then it's off to the races! Granted, they are very popular with the families taking pictures, but when other aspects of your park are lacking, why buy art? Bottom line: I don't go to the zoo to see sculptures of animals.
The first thing you see when you enter the building is a large cylindrical saltwater aquarium containing at least three beautiful Sea Dragon, Phycodurus eques. However, the condensation was so thick on the glass that "seeing" was a blur at best. Disappointing....
You then move to this extraordinary view of the Amazon River tank.
Besides the main tank containing a variety of large fish, the structure is a walk around with other large tanks along the outer perimeter. The combination of faux landforms and large trees with live tropical vegetation is very effective.
At one point the steam jets launch, and the ambiance becomes very tropical -- and no doubt the reason why you can't see the Sea Dragons.
The rest of the building is a simple maze with a variety of mostly large tanks containing both salt and freshwater fish and crustaceans.
The fresh water tanks represent a variety of world river systems. And many have an above water flora component.
The saltwater tanks mostly feature specific kinds of animals. One of the most impressive is home to a large Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris, who entertained the visitors by clinging and moving along the glass surface of the ample tank.
Other foci included a floor to ceiling tank mimicking tidal waves, a two-story tall tank with various sharks, and an enclosure where penguins of at least three species hung out together. I didn't understand why three species were housed together, and the space wasn't very large by comparison to most penguin enclosures that I've seen on my zoo visits. Yet, in all fairness, it also was only the public area of a more extensive enclosure. A crowd pleaser, as well, it was difficult to get close to the viewing area.
I've been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and so I'm a bit spoiled, but I've also been to the Baltimore National Aquarium, so I have some sense of perspective, too! PPG is a nice aquarium. I like the fact that it contains so many freshwater fish and not just the showier saltwater coral eco-systems. At the zoo, it's a high point.
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