Whoa! Get a load of this bad boy! This 18-lb, septuagenarian behemoth is settling in to his new home at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, where officials say he's "loving life." And there sure is plenty of him to love. more ›

There's a new fish in town at the New York Aquarium, and he's a real slick fellow...but as of right now, this sleek electric eel has no name. But you can change all that! more ›

Remember Tazo, the orphaned sea otter The New York Aquarium in Coney Island took in last year? The one who was being hand-fed, towel-dried, and adorably cuddled by his human caretakers after being separated from his mother in a vicious Alaskan storm? Well, after months of specialized care and attention, Tazo is ready to make his public debut! more ›

The $150MM facelift for the New York Aquarium has been in the works for over a year now, but the Wildlife Conservation Society hasn't given many hints about what the new look will be like. Now the Wall Street Journal has some details, noting that the plan will add a 1,000-foot spiral ramp, a sparkling aluminum facade, a roof deck with an oceanview and special tanks featuring local species. The added 50,000-square-feet will house a 500,000 tank filled with sharks, sea turtles, and thousands of fish... but no mermaids. more ›

The New York Aquarium on Coney Island has gotten their own little orphan Annie: a sea otter named Tazo. Animal keeper Nicole Pisciotta has has been acting as his surrogate mom after he was orphaned in Alaska this summer. The 5-month-old has bonded with Pisciotta over that time—she says, "We've seen lots of animals born here, but they have their mothers to take care of them. To basically raise him has been amazing." According to the Daily News, the 32-year-old spent 10 days at the Alaskan SeaLife Center learning to take care of Tazo, and on their flight back to Brooklyn she says, "He just wanted to be on my lap the entire time." more ›

Age ain't nothing but a number, at least for two harbor seals at the New York Aquarium. Coral, a 3-year-old seal, recently shacked up with Bernie, a 23-year-old seal who hasn't had contact with his kind in ages. Jon Dohlin, the aquarium's director, told the Daily News: "It was our opportunity to get him a companion of his own species. It was our hope they would show interest in each other. I think Bernie was taken aback by the whole thing and wanted to find out what was this strange animal that looked something like him... he was busy checking her out." more ›

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium has just welcomed its newest addition: this baby sea lion! The pup was born to Clarice, and is the first to ever be born at the aquarium. She doesn't have a name yet, that will be on the auction block on September 22nd at the WCS's annual benefit dinner and auction—and if you can't afford that honor, the organization is always looking for any donations, lest they're forced to fire more animals! As for the new pup, Jon Dohlin, director of the New York Aquarium, says: “She is very sweet, and we are sure she will become an instant Coney Island celebrity and a favorite among our guests.” more ›

Last night we were informed by the Wildlife Conservation Society that there would be a major announcement made this evening at the New York Aquarium. While the official press conference isn't until 7:30 p.m. tonight (it will include Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.), the NY Times managed to loosen some lips and found out it has to do with their Sea Change (what the WCS has dubbed their renovation project). more ›

The New York Aquarium saw some action between two members of the most dangerous species yesterday: humans. The NY Post reports that a grandma from Queens and a mom from Brooklyn "got into a knock-down, drag-out rumble in front of the shark exhibit at the Coney Island attraction, whaling on each other as dozens of horrified kids watched." It all started when Rodine James' child bumped into Rosa Melendez's grandchild, causing Melendez to scream at James' kid. When James walked away, Melendez followed her and continued screaming, finally striking James across the face, shattering her sunglasses and knocking her to the ground. One eyewitness said, "The younger woman looked like she'd been scratched up pretty badly," but she wasn't the only victim, the two kids were also knocked down during the incident. Melendez, who in her final act of outrage grabbed James' camera and threw it to the ground, was arrested while James was taken to the hospital. more ›

Forget about cash cows, the Wildlife Conservation Society has informed us that the New York Aquarium has just launched a program that will allow visitors to get up close and personal with their sea lions... for a price. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a crime scene/hanging at East 13th St. and Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, a child mauled by a dog in the area of 91-43 Gold Rd. in Queens, and a possible escaped prisoner on Wards Island across from Manhattan.
• Asbestos removal at the Carroll St. F and G line station appears to be a non-issue. Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn received a note saying that air levels were fine and removal is not scheduled for the immediate future.
• The New York Aquarium's sharks at Coney Island are moving on up. They're upgrading their modest 90,000 cubic foot tank to a $67 million waterfront palace.
• The City is pursuing criminal charges against an 82-year-old buildings engineer for what they claim was perjury. A $.99 store whose designs he ok'd caught fire and rotten timbers allegedly resulted in the deaths of two firefighters.
• Did the Hell's Angels plan a 'Bay of Hogs' Long Island beachfront attack that ended in embarrassing failure during the 1960s? Apparently, after the Rolling Stones' concert at Altamont, some Hells Angels tried sailing to Mick Jagger's estate to kill him, but hit rough seas and fell overboard.
• The box office at Yankee Stadium opened this morning at 10 a.m., as the organization began selling tickets to games at the Bronx Bombers' final season in the House that Ruth Built, and that we mostly paid for when it was renovated.
• Bravo to Shannon O'Hanlon, the 9-year-old 4th grader from Queens who won yesterday's Fay Wray Scream-A-Like Contest at Film Forum in Manhattan. The contest was part of a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the original King Kong film.

The cutest mustachioed baby in this town is definitely the new walrus at the New York Aquarium. The baby walrus, who was born on June 12 and weighed in at 115 pounds, is ready for his public, as he made his first appearance yesterday. But he needs a name, and people can vote on the Today Show's website for one of four names: Utvak (Means ice made from snow or ice cube), Ukiivak (Means king island), Utumek (Means earth), Akituusaq (Means gift given in return). more ›

WCBS reports that, according to an Animal Department Supervisor at the New York Aquarium, the shark was a thresher shark, not known for attacking humans. Its attempts to swim onto shore are considered abnormal so the shark could have been sick. In fact, a 10-year-old witness said, "It was like freaking out. Its tail was flopping everywhere...Maybe it got separated from its family. It looked sick." more ›

If you're cooped up in a stuffy apartment this muggy afternoon, consider visiting one of New York's many zoos. The cool customers pictured above are residents of the Central Park Zoo. There's also the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium at Coney Island. If you can't make it to any of those, you can always settle for the Penguin Cam. more ›

A few weeks ago, the New York Aquarium and Kinsborough Community College went out to count harbor seals in the NYC area. The Staten Island Advance tagged along and found nine seals in mid-March. (Last year, there were 20 seals in the first formal seal count by Aquarium Curator Paul Sieswerda, who says about this year's count, "Likely there are more out fishing at the time we happened to look.")

The seals are drawn to the peaceful isolation of Hoffman and Swinburne islands just off the coast of South Beach, in view of Coney Island Park, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and passing cargo ships destined for one of the country's busiest ports. more ›

The NY Sun reports that the New York Aquarium has selected a plan for its redesign. The Wallace Roberts & Todd and Cloud 9 design has a dramatic "wavy, cage-like enclosure." NY Times critic Nicholas Ouroussoff said it resembles a whale last October when the design, along with two others, were announced as finalists. more ›

Some of Gothamist's favorite stories in the city were about the animals of New York City. Here's how animals ruled the Big Apple in 2006: more ›

A horrifying tragedy in Brooklyn: Sadier Jean Noel, who had jumped in front of a train on Monday as her 9 year old son's dead body was found in her apartment, admitted that "demons overtook her" and that she killed her son. Sadier Jean Noel said that son Knil was brooding about his birthday celebration from the day before - the family went to Junior's but Knil was upset an invited friend wasn't able to come. Noel told police that she reacted by smothering him with a pillow. more ›

Jesus of the Twin Towers, Dyker Heights by gkjarvis. more ›

As the redevelopment of Coney Island keeps moving ahead, it's starting to become clear what will be around next summer and what won't. Thor Equities, the developer with 10 acres of Coney Island land, has been letting various tenants know whether their leases are up or if they get to stick around. The NY Post put a positive spin on things, noting that "11 boardwalk businesses would be allowed to remain open at least one more summer" and that the attractions - "including Ruby's Bar and Grill, Cha-Cha's and Shoot the Freak paintball - will be given the opportunity to move into the proposed complex." more ›

We read Nicholas Confessore's NY Times article about three finalists being chosen for the New York Aquarium's redesign in actual paper, but it's much better online with the color renderings of the designs. The designs had to make the aquarium "visually porous, engaging and inviting," because many people find the current structure too remote and walled-up. Oh, and the design had to be a "beacon for Coney Island." The three finalists do seem rather spectacular in their own ways: more ›

We can't believe it. There apparently was a manatee swimming up the Hudson since Saturday, and we had no idea. Observers spotted him at 23rd Street, then at 125th Street. We suppose he continued north, though it would have been cool if he turned around to venture over the Boat Basin and give us a shout. Gothamist will have to head to the New York Aquarium for our manatee fix, instead. more ›

The oldest known female sea lion in captivity, Breezy the Sea Lion, was quietly euthanized yesterday. more ›

"Look at them, they're like bags of meat. They're huge." more ›

Gothamist loved The March of the Penguins (the drama! the weather! the adorable baby penguins!) so much that we decided we had to see some penguins, since this town may never give us the pandas we deserve. And the NY Post had the same idea, dispatching a reporter to visit the penguins of Coney Island. Reporter Michael Kane had a Costeau-y narration ("In an isolated and untamed Atlantic outpost separated from civilization by a chain-link fence and reachable by a perilous trek on foot, automobile, skateboard, pogo stick or any of four MTA subway lines...") as well as the thoughts from a group of visitors to the New York Aquarium:

"Do something!" shouts an onlooker, as the birds stand motionless on their rock ledge. One of the full-grown 2-footers eventually waddles over to the edge and stares down at the water - for 15 minutes. more ›

Yesterday's shark shoring is pretty exciting, especially now that Gothamist knows the thing in the shark's mouth wasn't a big stuffed sock - it was actually his stomach! A helpful reader pointed out since there was a hook found in the shark, the shark probably died a "slow and painful death" (thanks to "an irresponsible and cruel fisherman") and had regurgitated its own stomach. Blech! The Daily News say a teenager saw the shark corpse in the surf and dragged it ashore, and one beachgoer said, "It was so stinky we couldn't think." The decaying shark had been dead for a few days, and a New York Aquarium shark researcher reassured people, "Blue sharks are not dangerous because you don't find them around people. You usually find them at sea." Authorities think a fisherman dumped the shark by the shore, and Newsday points out that "a person found responsible for illegally dumping on parks property could face a significant fine." more ›

Raffi has a CD called Baby Beluga. Bluejake visited the NY Aquarium. more ›