Page 178 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2018

THEFINALSAY
MOBY SOLANGI, Ph.D.
President & Executive Director, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies
Prepare to step into a thrilling experience at Ocean Adventure in Gulfport. This unique venue, located near Interstate 10, gives children and adults a fun and exciting opportunity to experience the underwater world of the Mississippi Sound. It brings to life the rich diversity of marine life right off our beaches in the Gulf of Mexico. You’ll find our new facility (formally known as Marine Life, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina) to be a memorable family experience.
Our shorelines come to life at Ocean Adventures where pristine clear water allows guests to snorkel with stingrays as they flap their wing like fins gently flying through the water or experience striped bamboo sharks nestled in the sandy bottom of our 75,000-gallon pool.
How about getting up close and personal with the ambassadors of the Gulf, the majestic Bottlenose Dolphins. Ours have found their forever homes and are all retired
or declared un-releasable after recovering from illnesses. Apollo, for example, was rescued and found to be deaf.
He could not survive or hunt for fish in the wild without the help of humans to care for and feed him. All of our dolphins help folks understand how important it is to keep our waters clean and clear of pollution — such as plastic
— and maintain our fragile aquatic ecosystems for years to come.
Just a few steps away from the new dolphin stadium, guests can experience exotic parrots from the rainforest and understand how important they are to maintaining their natural environment. People of all ages can experience what it’s like to be immersed in a flock of more than 500 birds as they fly and swerve through the air often gently landing on the fingers of guests to eat special seed treats from wooden sticks.
Ocean Adventure is the newest part of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) established in 1984. It has provided guests from all over the world the opportunity to learn about nature and has always stressed the critical importance of maintaining a healthy aquatic environment.
IMMS played a critical role in the BP oil spill clean up and was an important part of nursing injured sea life back to health in its extensive veterinary hospital. IMMS has also rescued, rehabilitated and released several whales and more than 1000 critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles which have accidentally been caught on hook and line or in dredges in the Mississippi Sound.
A bright blue train transports guests around the park,
or they can leisurely stroll through the facility’s waterfall cascade on the meandering paved walkway. Occasionally, guests may even have the good fortune of seeing wild birds such as Bald Eagles or Ospreys grace the sky as they soar overhead with fish plucked right from the water off the Ocean Adventure shores.
Ocean Adventures is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the last admission at 2 p.m. General admission is $14 for adults, $12 for children ages 3-12 and $13 for active duty military personnel and seniors ages 55 and older.
178 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2018
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