Mississippi Aquarium offers close encounters of the animal kind

The Mississippi Aquarium offers close encounters with the animal ambassadors.

Meet Todd. He’s a green-winged Macaw that loves to dance and is an ambassador for others just like him in the wild.

The Aquarium hopes that by coming to their facility and meeting their animals, people will form a special bond and encourage conservation efforts around the Coast and around the world.

‘We do have local species that are a part of our ambassador program, like the box turtle,” said Diana Major, curator of the birds and ambassador animals program at the aquarium. “And we are involved in our Kemp’s Ridley cold-stunned sea turtle catch-and-release so our veterinary teams work to make sure they’re healthy and released back into the wild.”

You can see Todd this weekend at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Mississippi Aquarium’s changing tides building.

The Mississippi Aquarium also offers many other types of close encounters. Check their website for a schedule.