Mystic Aquarium

There’s a quiet place on earth, an original bit of paradise, where you can move as nature once promised among the wild, innocent inhabitants. Here fox pups play, muskox graze, falcons soar, loons cry and the bright sea teems with beluga whales—hundreds of diving, flashing belugas—almost at your fingertips.

Located in the Foxwoods Marine Theater queuing hall, Mystic Aquarium’s new Arctic Watch photo gallery displays over 20 stunning photographs taken by wildlife photographer Nansen Weber at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, a one-of-a-kind, world-class beluga observation site located 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle on Somerset Island in Nunavut, Canada. Weber, son of Arctic Watch owners and Arctic explorers Josée Auclair and Richard Weber, captures the true beauty of the Arctic and the wildlife that lives there.

Mystic Aquarium is a leader in beluga whale research, conservation and education. Every year, scientists from Mystic Aquarium study unique beluga populations in Arctic waters to help monitor beluga health as environmental threats increase, such as climate change, oil exploration and drilling, pollution and shipping traffic.

In 2012, Mystic Aquarium renewed its partnership with Arctic Watch in order to study the hundreds of belugas make Cunningham Inlet their home for a few weeks every summer to socialize, molt and bond with their young. No one has studied the Cunningham Inlet population since the late Mystic Aquarium research scientist Dr. David St. Aubin conducted field studies there in the 1990s.  Since that time, the climate has changed dramatically and continues to change, allowing for increased ship traffic in the Northwest Passage. No one knows how the melting sea ice will impact the belugas. Mystic Aquarium scientists plan to continue monitoring and collecting data on the Cunningham Inlet whales and, together with Arctic Watch, hope to protect this area for belugas in the years to come.

Join Mystic Aquarium scientists during “Mystic Week” at Arctic Watch July 19 - 26, 2013, or July 18 - 25, 2014, for an adventure-packed opportunity of a lifetime. Enjoy an up-close view of beluga whales and learn from our scientists first hand! You will also encounter muskox, a wide range of birds, Arctic foxes and hares and other wildlife in their natural habitat while experiencing this truly unique environment through hiking, kayaking and other adventures. Click here to learn more.