Monterey Bay Aquarium opens new animal care center

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has always been at the top of the game when it comes to caring for animals- but they are taking it to the next level.

The aquarium had a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday morning to kick-off their new animal care center. The goal of the center is to better serve the animals, and teach students through hands on training.

Dr. Mike Murray is the Jane Dunaway director of veterinary services at the aquarium. He says, “This is where we bring live animals in, anything that will fit through the door comes in here.”

Dr. Murray works on everything from 400 pound sea turtles to sand dollars. He says these are just a few of the animals that will set foot in the center to get top-notch care. But the tight squeeze of the old space didn’t always allow that. “It’s basically taking what we always had in our animal care program and expanding it into a larger footprint,” says Murray.

This new and larger area will give the team more room to manage the new animals coming in, and take care of the ones they already have. This will allow for more equipment and room for training.

Marissa Young works very closely with Dr. Murray. She says, “I am very excited. We are doubling our capacity and square footage, and we’ll be able to do a lot more work with other institutions and just within our own institution.”

And while this center is primarily for the animals, Dr. Murray says that’s not all. “You know I think the number one goal for me is involving getting veterinary students out here. I really want to start pushing the diversity envelope. We are in a position at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with our reputation to really make a difference.”