Page 93 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2018

Ocean Adventures is home to more than just marine animals! This White Cockatoo took the stage during the bird show.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net May 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 93
the animals face-to-face, touch, feed them and get a photo.
“We have six sea lions, five dolphins, five parrots, about 500 parakeets, 17 stingrays, six sharks, and a variety of fish and reptiles,” said IMMS Vice President and CFO Samia Ahmad. “The animals are taken care of by our dedicated aquarists as well as by our on-site veterinarian.” Because of the level of care they receive, many animals at IMMS outlive the life expectancies of animals in the wild.
Miss Bo, a dolphin who found her forever home at IMMS, is 40 years old while most dolphins only reach the age of 17 or so in the wild. After serving in the Navy (yes, she’s a Navy veteran) for 30 years, she lives happily at the facility alongside many other rescues who needed a forever home.
Each of the animals at IMMS plays a vital role in educating the public through interaction. An important part of that
is realizing that the animals aren’t attractions, rather the aquarists introduce guests to the animals as they would be in their natural habitat. “Even in our shows, what you’re seeing are behaviors, not tricks,” said Ahmad. “These are the same behaviors you would witness in the wild, we just teach them to do them on cue.”
“Ocean Adventures is really a window on what IMMS does,” said Solangi. “We’re in education, conservation, research and rehabilitation, so we want the public to know what we actually do.”
IMMS is the only facility of its kind
in the Mississippi-Louisiana-Alabama sub-region and is also the region’s premier stranding organization with the capability and expertise to care for sick and injured marine mammals.
The IMMS center also features a museum with 2,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and life-size replicas of sea creatures. Guests can sift through the sand to find shark teeth and identify the species as well as enjoy marine- inspired local art and analyze artifacts. The Discovery Room is also located in IMMS’s original building and includes touch pools filled with stingrays, cow- nose rays, horseshoe crabs, sea stars and other marine animals.
Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Inc. 10801 Dolphin Lane Gulfport, MS 39503 228.896.9182 www.imms.org
IMMS recently expanded to include a new marine park.
Aquarist Sarah Jennings assists with a Stingray Encounter.