Nothing delights us humans, more than baby animals, and the keepers at Den Blå Planet are no exception to that rule. It is always an exciting journey to follow, just like when our zebra shark baby was born.
Read: Lost and cold: a stranded sea turtle rescue mission
New young not only gives us the opportunity to show just how the animals develop, it means that they can be distributed to other aquariums. It is common for aquariums to work together and create breeding programs to avoid taking animals from their natural habitat.
On the 12th of November 2019, Den Blå Planet received a male eagle ray, with a special connection to our aquarium. The excitement was palpable in an email from keeper Mia Rasmussen, who explained the situation back in October:
Mail sent the 23rd of October 2019
Subject: True Love Story 💕
Hey Anders,
Forget Romeo and Juliet, Titanic, The Notebook and Pretty Woman!
It’s happening! The moment we’ve all been waiting for!
It was a devoted relationship of 14 years, they had 15 babies together and everything was just perfect… then one day they were torn apart from each other because of a breeding program!
But alas, love conquers all. Now the male ray is moving all the way from Holland to be reacquainted with his loved one here with us! (You could also say that the long-distance relationship wasn’t working anymore…and of course, the male had to move for their love).
Anyways! He will be arriving on the 11th of November, and I think we should make a story all about it!
It’s so exciting :D
Mia Rasmussen
Zookeeper / commercial diver
Mail sent the 25th of October 2019
Hey Mia,
That sounds amazing! Great that we have a date for the move.
And Mia, thanks for doing my job for me and finding the perfect angle for the story – it sure makes things easier!
Anders Engrob
Digital editor
The Waiting Game
The eagle ray is now in our Ocean Tank, and everything has gone smoothly. The keepers are doing all but playing Marvin Gaye, in the hopes of setting the right mood, so the two old lovers can find their “ray” back together.
We hope to be able to share some eagle ray babies with our guests again soon.
We will be sure to inform everyone on all our channels as soon as we know more!
Read: Finally! All four otterly adorable sea otters can be seen at Den Blå Planet
