Expeditions are back! I had so much fun at the zoo and aquarium in Mexico that when I saw the fish feeding event at Crab Cove in Alameda I had to go! I think I must have visited this little nature center at some time in the distant past but it slipped off my radar. I’ll be going back.
First to get lunch were the mudflat snails who got chopped krill. To get their food, they have to drop off the side of the glass tank to the bottom and then crawl up the rocks so it’s a slow process. Next, Hannah showed me the mussels that would go to the sea stars. These were open, but sea stars are strong enough to pull open the shells and extrude their stomachs to consume the flesh.
In this case, the stars could detect food arriving and reached toward it. Then begins the slow process of getting the food down to the stomach. I went back over to check about 15 minutes later and one was pretty close to done; Hannah said the star would push out the shell later. In the next tank, Hannah tried to feel the blind shark but her salmon got snatched away by the moray eel! Very dramatic. Fortunately, the shark only needs to eat every few months or so.
The center is right at the beach so I walked out to the water at very low tide and watched terns scanning for fish and diving while seagulls bobbed around. I definitely wore the right shoes.
