Tom and Aletha’s son Peter and granddaughter Valentina looking into the beluga whale window at "Ártico,” a 4-million-liter (over 1 million gallon) seawater exhibit at Oceanogràfic València (Spain).

by Tom Lang

When people ask me where my passion for aquariums began, my answer goes back even farther than the Minnesota Zoo.

I had kept aquariums at home since the fifth grade, spending countless hours learning about fish, water chemistry, and aquarium husbandry. What began as a childhood hobby eventually became a lifelong passion and led me to volunteer at the brand-new Minnesota Zoological Garden (now just Minnesota Zoo) in Apple Valley right before it opened to the public on May 22, 1978.

Those final weeks before opening day were unforgettable. Staff and volunteers alike were hurrying to get everything ready. Aquariums were being filled and aquascaped, life-support systems were being brought online, animals were arriving, and exhibits were being adjusted right up to opening day.

There was a shared sense of urgency and excitement. We all knew we were helping create something extraordinary.

My assignment was helping to establish the original aquarium exhibits directly across the hall from the underwater viewing window for the zoo’s two beluga whales, Anookalik and Anana.

At the time, I could never have imagined that nearly five decades later those experiences would help shape one of the most important animal-care decisions for the future Fresno Aquarium.

I remember the wonder of watching the belugas glide past the viewing window. They were graceful, intelligent, and endlessly fascinating. For visitors, they quickly became among the most memorable animals at the new zoo.

It was Ralph Waterhouse who allowed me to volunteer as the only under-aged minor onsite at 17 years old. Ralph was Minnesota Zoo’s first General Curator before going on to direct the Blank Park Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, and finally the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. He also chaired the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Accreditation Commission, helping shape standards across the profession.

My family moved to Fresno in 1979. I met my wife, Aletha, at Fresno State and we founded our aquarium installation and maintenance business, Aquarius Aquarium, in 1980. We founded the nonprofit Aquarius Aquarium Institute in 2000.

Looking back, it's remarkable how interconnected the zoo and aquarium profession has become. People carry ideas, experiences, and lessons from one institution to another - continually improving how animals are housed and cared for.

But the history of the Minnesota Zoo’s belugas also became a difficult one.

Both whales later developed serious health problems and were eventually transferred to SeaWorld San Diego in hopes of receiving more specialized veterinary care. Despite those efforts, both ultimately died. Their story contributed to a better understanding of marine mammal medicine, water-quality management, and long-term cetacean husbandry.

Today, another chapter in the history of captive belugas is unfolding in Canada.

After Marineland in Niagara Falls closed to the public in 2024, 30 beluga whales remained behind. Their daily care continued because veterinarians, trainers, aquarists, and life-support personnel remained onsite. Even after the visitors and admission revenue were gone, the whales still needed food, medical attention, water-quality management, filtration, staffing, and continuous monitoring.

The park’s closure did not end its responsibility to the animals.

Instead, it exposed how difficult that responsibility becomes when an institution’s finances, ownership, or long-term plans begin to fail. Finding appropriate homes for 30 belugas has required government involvement, international cooperation, specialized transportation planning, and the participation of a relatively small number of accredited institutions capable of caring for them:

• • Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)
  • Georgia Aquarium
  • SeaWorld San Antonio
  • SeaWorld San Diego
  • Oceanogràfic València (Spain)

For me, the connection between these two experiences is unmistakable.

As a young volunteer in Minnesota, I saw how powerfully a beluga exhibit could inspire people. Decades later, the Marineland situation demonstrates the extraordinary lifetime commitment that comes with accepting responsibility for whales or dolphins.

These animals can live for decades. They require enormous pools, highly specialized life-support systems, expert veterinary care, experienced professional staffs, and financial resources that must remain available through recessions, leadership changes, institutional closures, and unexpected emergencies.

It’s not enough to ask whether an aquarium can build a dolphin or whale exhibit.

The more important question is whether it can responsibly guarantee the resources and institutional stability necessary to care for those animals for the rest of their lives.

Those lessons, together with decades of experience in the aquarium profession, have helped shape our decision that the future Fresno Aquarium will not exhibit dolphins, beluga whales, or other cetaceans.

That decision is not based on a lack of admiration for these remarkable animals. Quite the opposite. Whales and dolphins are among the most intelligent and inspiring creatures on Earth. Our decision reflects respect for the extraordinary responsibility involved in caring for them.

Instead, the Fresno Aquarium will focus on species and ecosystems that align with our mission, facilities, and long-term capacity. Our exhibits will interpret the San Joaquin River, California’s native fishes, rivers from around the world, coral reefs, tidepools, and freshwater and marine habitats where we can provide exceptional care while advancing education, conservation, and aquaculture.

We want every species entrusted to us to thrive—not just on opening day, but for generations.

That philosophy influences every aspect of our planning. It is why we are building the Fresno Aquarium in phases, avoiding unnecessary debt, creating an endowment for future maintenance and animal care, investing in aquaculture, and carefully evaluating every species we hope to exhibit.

My memories of the Minnesota Zoo remain deeply positive. Today, as we work to build the Fresno Aquarium, I still carry those memories with me.

They remind me that every zoo and aquarium has a responsibility not only to inspire, but also to ensure that every animal entrusted to its care can receive outstanding care throughout its entire lifetime.

That’s the nonprofit institution Aletha and I, our board of directors, Charter Members and donors are working to build in Fresno.