STATE COLLEGE — Discovery Space’s Marine Life Center has a new resident — a baby stingray named Pearl. Her arrival in State College is thanks to a partnership with the Electric City Aquarium and Reptile Den in Scranton.
“On Tuesday, March 5, two staff members from Electric City Aquarium carefully transported the stingray to Discovery Space, where she underwent a 30-minute drip acclimation process before gracefully gliding into her nursery tank,” Discovery Space outlined in a press release. “Since her arrival, the Marine Life Center has been temporarily closed to allow her time to acclimate and ensure she is healthy and thriving. She is settling in well, actively exploring her environment, eating regularly and appears to be enjoying her new home”
The baby stingray is a California round ray, a bottom-dwelling type of stingray native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. The stingrays are carnivorous and feed on worms, small crustaceans, mollusks and small fish. At Discovery Space, Pearl will be fed shrimp and fish pieces.
Pearl will be calling the Marine Life Center at Discovery Space her home for the next one to two years where local residents will get to experience the rare opportunity to watch the baby stingray grow up and learn about marine conservation. Once she reaches maturity, 10-12 inches in diameter and up to 22 inches in length, Pearl will head back to the aquarium in Scranton
To build up some excitement for her public debut, Discovery Space held a stingray naming contest where schools and scout troops submitted name ideas. The community was then able to vote on a name where the top names were Sandy, Bubbles, Strawberry and Pearl.
Discovery Space revealed the winning baby stingray name, Pearl, at a member only event on Friday, March 14.
The nonprofit’s Marine Life Center reopened to the public on Saturday, March 15, and visitors are now able to pay Pearl a visit on their next trip to Discovery Space at 1224 N. Atherton St., State College.
