Albuquerque Bio Park (Aquarium / Botanical Garden)

The Albuquerque Biological Park, aka the bio park, consists of three distinct attractions; a zoo, an aquarium, and a botanical garden (a small park is also considered part of the Bio Park).  The aquarium and botanical garden are co-located and one fee ($14.50 and discounts available) allows access to both.  The zoo is about two miles away but there is a small train that runs through the bio park making all attractions available from one parking lot.  Getting a combo ticket to all attractions becomes attractive once you see the train but we recommend you see the zoo with a separate visit or you will end up rushing even if you get an early start since all parks close at 4:30.  If you have time after the aquarium and zoo we recommend a short visit to Tingley park which is also part of the bio park.

Typically I would write about the aquarium and the botanical garden separately since they are both sizeable attractions.  However, since they go on one admission ticket and are visited together I’m putting them in one blog entry.  This may make the blog a little long and together to get through.  Let me know what you think.  This will probably be a rare occurrence since we have not found many attractions stacked together in this fashion. Though we wonder why?

Since we entered the aquarium first let’s go through that first.

The Albuquerque Aquarium opened in 1996.  The aquarium was built as a themed attraction, with visitors starting at a fountain that depicts the headwaters of the Rio Grande and ending at a 285,000-U.S.-gallon shark tank with a 38-foot wide, 9-foot-high, 8-inch-thick acrylic viewing window. Jellies: Aliens of the Sea, featuring moon jellies and Japanese sea nettles, and the Pacific Coral Reef Tunnel are also popular with aquarium visitors. The South Pacific Gallery features seahorses, pipefishes, and colorfully patterned reef fish. The Rio Grande at Central Bridge exhibit in the aquarium lobby offers visitors an opportunity to compare the kinds of fish that lived in the Albuquerque reach of the Rio Grande 100 years ago and those found today. The Shark/Ray Encounter allows guests to have a guided, up-close experience with bamboo sharks and stingrays. The Albuquerque Biological Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

After entering the museum, visitors first view freshwater tanks that display fish from the Rio Grande, both currently found and those no longer found in the river today. Adjacent is a small movie theater displaying informational films on aquatic life. Following this is a Gulf of Mexico Coast Gallery, which contains several exhibits depicting the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, with fish and bird species from this region as well as stingrays, and a Texas Terrapin exhibit, and a retired shrimp fishing boat. A replica of a coral reef displaying such fish as parrotfish, angelfish, grunts, porcupinefish, and triggerfish comes next; followed by a coral reef tunnel exhibiting several types of fish species found in the South Pacific. The next exhibit is a series of small tanks exhibiting "oddities" such as clownfish, seahorses, pipefish, jellyfish, hagfish, cuttlefish, and nautilus. On occasion, there will also be a touch pool tank open that contains stingrays and bamboo shark pups. The final exhibit, a 285,000-U.S.-gallon (1,080,000 l) saltwater tank with a 38-foot viewing window,  displays six shark species (sandtiger sharks, sandbar sharks, blacktip sharks, nurse sharks, zebra sharks and tasselled wobbegongs), tarpon, barracudas, stingrays, large schooling fish, moray eels and three species of sea turtles (loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill). Every day divers enter the tank to do daily chores like feeding and cleaning.
Some of the exhibits have unique items that may attract your attention.  I’m going to highlight just those exhibits:
Iust inside the Aquarium entrance, a 1950 Hudson travels over the Rio Grande at Central Bridge. Weaving together historical and modern elements, the exhibit is a window into the Albuquerque reach of the Rio Grande today and a century ago. The historical tank showcases some of the thirteen species that have vanished from the Rio Grande. Evidence comes from bones found in Pueblo ruins and writings of Spanish explorers and early biologists. Even this historic view is incomplete—the Rio Grande bluntnose shiner and the Phantom shiner are extinct today.

In the shark tank you’ll find that eels are shy sea creatures and spend much of their time hiding in the darker spots like a tunnel inside the landform in front of the Shark Reef Café.  If you are there at feeding time watch the divers. Eels are ambush predators that can go for extended periods without eating, and may only pop out once or twice a week to grab a bit of mackerel or an occasional bit of herring. To coax the eels out during feeding time, divers tap a pair of tongs on the landform—an audible training technique that lets the eels associate the sound with food. While at the shark tank note that these vicious predators aren’t so vicious—divers swim alongside them every day during their Shark Tank dives at 2 p.m. Also, Divers feed the sharks once a week using a pole with prongs on the end. They feed each shark individually, making sure not to allow two sharks to pursue the same fish. Although some of the sharks try to get more than their fair share, the tank is calm during feedings—they seem to know they'll each get their turn.  You may also notice that not all species of shark must move to survive. Bottom feeders like nurse sharks can rest on the sea floor for long periods of time, but species that hunt in the open ocean may need to swim constantly to keep water flowing through their gills
If you headed here via the Gulf of Mexico like we did you are certainly aware of the large number of oil and gas rigs in the gulf. The Gulf of Mexico has been perforated by thousands of drilling platforms since 1938. Yet offshore rigs may benefit Gulf species by introducing artificial habitats. Barnacles, sponges, algae and corals attach to the giant floating platforms and support legs of oil rigs. These areas attract little fishes that in turn attract larger predators. In an effort to establish these communities, the federal "Rigs to Reefs" program sinks derelict rigs on site rather than hauling them away.

A jelly (they are not ‘fish’ they invertebrates…and there are no more starfish, they are now seastars) is mostly water — more than 95 percent. The adult form, called a medusa, has a bell-shaped body. Medusae move about by contracting muscles along the lower edge of the bell and propelling themselves forward. They feed by stunning or paralyzing prey with stinging cells, called nematocysts, located on their feeding tentacles. Once the prey is immobilized, the tentacles move it to the opening of the central cavity for digestion. The single opening in the jelly's body cavity is used for feeding and waste disposal.
The Aquarium has two female river otters, Chaos and Mayhem. They came from Louisiana, where they were wild otters. They were considered “nuisance otters” because they were stealing shrimp from a shrimp farm, causing stock problems for the owners. Instead of having the otters put down, the Bio Park offered to take them in. The pair arrived at the Bio andPark in May 2016 stayed behind the scenes until the grand opening of the North American river otter exhibit in July 2018. Mayhem is the outgoing one. Chaos is a bit shyer. Although the two otters are not related, they share a close bond. You can spot them tumbling around on land and in water as well as cuddling up together during nap time. You may see aquarists working with Chaos and Mayhem on a training regimen that aims to keep the otters enriched and provides opportunities for proactive healthcare.
If you get to see feedings you will notice that the divers have protective gloves on when feeding stingrays.  This is because stingrays “pulse” by pushing water out and bringing food into two rolling plates that rotate like a wheel to crush food!

The Albuquerque Aquarium currently runs a facility that focuses in the conservation of fishes found in the Rio Grande. The project includes the Rio Grande silvery minnow breeding program and the Socorro isopod. In January 2008, three blacktip shark pups were born at the Albuquerque Aquarium, making it the first birth of this species of shark ever recorded in captivity.
A restaurant and a gift shop are also located in the building.

Now off to the Botanical Garden! Like the aquarium the botanical garden opened in 1996.  This may be the most family friendly garden you will come across.  This is one where the kids have a section of their own. The garden showcases plants of the Southwest and other arid climates, and includes a 10,000-square-foot conservatory, formal themed gardens, and a demonstration garden. One wing of the glass conservatory houses plants native to the Mediterranean climates zones of Spain, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, Chile and California. A second wing features xeric plants from North American deserts. Paths behind the conservatory showcase New Mexico Habitats, including desert, grasslands, lava flows and sandhills. Medicinal plants are highlighted in El Jardin de la Curandera. Railroad Hill includes miniature trains and villages (as I’m learning railroad gardens are popular here in the southwest and some cities even offer tours of the areas railroad gardens), and Children's Fantasy Garden is a "garden" of gigantic vegetables and insects . From mid-May through September, the PNM Butterfly Pavilion showcases hundreds of North American butterflies. The Heritage Farm represents farm life along the Rio Grande in the 1920s and 1930s, and Colores offers delights in every season with blossoms, seed pods and interesting foliage. Opened in the fall of 2007, Sasebo Japanese Garden features a 16-foot waterfall that tumbles into a large pond, surrounded by winding paths.  Here is more explanation of each of the exhibits:

Spanish-Moorish Courtyard and Walled Gardens. These outdoor gardens, located just inside the entrance, contain a Spanish-Moorish themed garden displaying aromatic plants such as rosemary, Spanish lavender, fig and pomegranate trees; a small, round garden with a raised bed of cultivated roses called the Jardin Redondo; and the Ceremonial Rose Garden which contains a scenic trellis covered with wisteria and rambling roses.

Mediterranean Conservatory. This large greenhouse displays a variety of plants native to coastal areas with hot dry summers and mild rainy winters, such as the Mediterranean, the California coast, southwestern Australia, South Africa and coastal Chile. rockroses, bottlebrush trees, olive trees, myrtles, oleanders and numerous mints and sages are displayed here. This conservatory is also the locale for several flower shows, including Winter Fire Colors, Bulbs in Bloom and the Orchid Show. In 2009, an exhibit on arthropods was added as a preview for the future ‘BUGariunm’ .

Desert Conservatory. Located next to the Mediterranean Conservatory, this second greenhouse simulates a dry climate and displays a collection of plant life from deserts of the American Southwest, such as saguaro cactus and palo verde trees from the Sonoran Desert, creosote and yucca from the Chihuahuan Desert, and elephant trees from Baja.

Curandera Garden. This is a traditional herb garden based on the practices of Curanderos, or Spanish folk doctors, who have a long history of herbal medicine in New Mexico. The garden also contains a bas relief sculpture by Diego "Sonny" Rivera depicting a Curandero.  

Camino de Colores. This garden is divided into four area, each themed to one of the four seasons, with plants chosen to represent each season's colors year-round. This garden also contains a water feature in the winter garden, and large rose planters.

Sasebo Japanese Garden. A classically designed Japanese Garden, containing Japanese architecture and design elements such as the tile-capped garden wall and tile-roofed entry gate, an elevated bell tower, stone lanterns and pagoda sculptures, a ceremonial hand-wash basin, a waterfall, koi pond, an arched-moon bridge, and a viewing deck. The plant palette includes both traditional Japanese and American Southwest plantings. The garden was designed by architect Toru Tanaka, the same architect who created the children's garden.

Heritage Farm. A re-creation of a 1930s era Albuquerque-area farm, containing a kitchen garden, crops, an orchard, vineyard and berry bushes, as well as replicas of a farmhouse, a barn, and a stables. Demonstrations take place in the farmhouse, and farm animals such as cows, goats, sheep, and horses live at the stables. This garden won the 2007 American Public Gardens Association award for excellence in programming and was invited to place an exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. from May through October 9, 2007. 

PNM Butterfly Pavilion. An indoor butterfly house, open seasonally.. The exhibit features several species of butterflies from North America. Species include monarch butterfly and blue morpho. On one side of the pavilion, visitors can see small displays with dozens of other insects and arachnids and talk with the arthropod experts.

Dragonfly Sanctuary Pond. In spring, summer and fall, the Dragonfly Sanctuary Pond is buzzing with activity as dragonflies and damselflies fly, hunt and search for mates. The exhibit is the first dragonfly sanctuary pond in the United States. The pond features aquatic habitat perfect for attracting and breeding dragonflies and damselflies. Plants for perching grow around the pond, allowing guests to view and identify several species of dragonflies at once. A stream bubbles into the exhibit from a rocky desert landscape, and a deck overlooks the vibrant scene. A stunning glass mosaic depicting summer insects shimmers on the north wall of the courtyard.

Cottonwood Gallery. The five-acre Cottonwood Galley is located at the north end of the Botanic Garden. The garden showcases a restored forest with a canopy of mature cottonwood trees and an understory of native trees and bushes. The natural area attracts interesting wildlife, including roadrunners, kestrels, porcupines and great-horned owls. The palette of plantings includes species used by animals for forage and shelter. Wetlands and shaded paths provide quiet places to watch for animals.

"Garden" Railroad. An outdoor model railroad layout. This is huge and has one small section that is started when you push the button.  The rest of the set runs continuously.  For me this was as cool as the children’s garden.

Children's Fantasy Garden. A 14-foot-high dragon stands at the entrance of the Fantasy Garden that gives visitors a mite's eye perspective on the garden. Giant bugs, gardening tools, and huge pretend vegetables tower over visitors to this garden. A walk-through "pumpkin" 42 feet in diameter and two stories high is the centerpiece of this garden.

BUGarium. The new 3,500-square-foot building will feature different insect and other arthropod species from around the world, including Malaysian walking sticks, giant bird eating tarantulas and southwest velvet ants. Some of the exhibits include:A working bee hive, A tropical tree home to leaf cutter ants (I itched after walking under this), aquatic insects that seem to connect to the outside dragonfly sanctuary pond, a nocturnal exhibit allowing viewing under infra-red light of tarantulas, giant katydids and African scorpions, and a cluster of individual bubbles housing the social communities of naked mole rats.

There is obviously a lot to see at these two attractions. Lori and I arrived a little after 10 am and finished about 3:30 so the zoo was obviously out.  It was a good thing we did not purchase the combination ticket.