SEA LIFE Michigan's Seahorses Celebrate Father's Day

U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments Group, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, announced today that it will showcase its seahorse babies in the Seahorse Mangrove exhibit during Father’s Day weekend.

The seahorses will be the creatures of honor Father’s Day weekend because of their unique habits when caring for their young. Rather than the female birthing and taking care of baby seahorses alone like most animals do, seahorses approach it differently—the female transfers her eggs to the male, which he self fertilizes and cares for in his pouch. The eggs receive all of the nutrition and oxygen they need in the male’s pouch, until they are born.

“Seahorses are fascinating creatures, and they are the only species that cares for their young this way,” said Cadenas. “We thought highlighting them specifically in the aquarium would be a fun way to celebrate Father’s Day weekend, and further educate our guests about their interesting habits.”

There are between 30 and 40 species of seahorses worldwide, and possibly as many subspecies. Seahorses live in shallow weedy areas, gripping grass and other weeds with their tail to prevent them from being washed away. They eat small crustacean such as Mysis Shrimp, and feed up to 30 to 50 times per day. They are also known for their excellent eyesight—their eyes are able to work independently on either side of their head, so they can look forwards and backwards at the same time.

Seahorses are under a threat worldwide for several reasons. First, they are popular ingredients of medicine in some cultures, with more than 150 million seahorses being taken per year for this purpose. Additional millions per year are taken from the wild to be sold as pets or souvenirs. In order to help protect seahorses, SEA LIFE Trust recommends people do not buy products made from seahorses, only buy sustainably sourced seafood, avoid dropping anchor in seahorse habitats like seagrass beds when at sea, keep your distance from them if you see them while snorkeling on vacation, and do not keep them as pets—they are sensitive creatures, and difficult to keep safely without specialist knowledge.

To learn more about what SEA LIFE is doing to protect and support seahorses worldwide, visit http://www.sealifetrust.org/Our-Campaigns/Seahorses.