AquaZoo has new residents: ten Brazilian seahorses

AquaZoo has welcomed ten Brazilian seahorses. The animals have been given a place in a 1,700-liter aquarium where they live together with shrimp, sea urchins and corals.

Brazilian seahorses are found off the coasts of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the northern coast of South America and the east coast of Brazil and Uruguay. Because of their good camouflage, these animals have few natural predators. In fact, seahorses can change color to completely blend into their surroundings. However, human activity has caused them to currently not fare well and they are declining in numbers. The species is widely caught and traded to be kept as pets. In addition, they often end up as bycatch in fishing nets and are even dried to sell as souvenirs.

"We are therefore very happy to welcome them to our park from a zoo in Cologne," says William Kreijkes, chief zookeeper. "We want to make our visitors aware of the threats to these animals, but above all show them how special these animals are. They are fish but they don't really look like that at all. They seem to float through the water and hold onto weeds and corals with their prehensile tails. Their reproductive technique is also special because the males have a pouch on their belly in which the female lays her eggs. The male fertilizes these and incubates them in his pouch. Sometimes these are 1,600 eggs at a time. Fourteen days later, the little seahorses are born."

Drawing tail of seahorse
The seahorses are also part of the journey of discovery that young visitors to AquaZoo can make through the park. Using a special passport, the explorers can answer questions and complete assignments by looking closely at the animals and reading the information boards at the animal enclosures. One of the assignments is to draw the tail of the seahorse, among others.

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