The special exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium was frogs.

I can’t say frogs are a personal favorite, but my friend Susan loves them, so I paid close attention and took lots of pictures, because they made me think of her.

They had Poison Dar Frogs, which are Susan’s favorite. I didn’t get many good pictures of them.

But they had other kinds of frogs, and I didn’t think to make note of a single name or species.

They also had a penguin display, but again, I think the display at Newport is larger and nicer.

And they had otters. I love river otters–they remind me of cats. Strange, water-loving cats. (Again, Newport has a much larger–and better–display of river otters.)

They also had sea otters, and that is the start of what bothered me about the Georgia Aquarium.

Sea Otters are large mammals.

I’m not comfortable with large mammals being on display, which is why I don’t like going to zoos.

Georgia Aquarium had not just Sea Otters, but also beluga whales and dolphins. And I really wasn’t comfortable with seeing them on display.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think these animals are treated badly.

I just feel very uncomfortable seeing large creatures in such a confined space. Having now seen whales in the wild, I feel even more uncomfortable seeing them confined. I understand that these places have to balance space for the animals and creating a display so the animals can be seen. But I would much rather have a display where I can’t see the animals as well but they have lots and lots of space to play.

I know that many animals that have been rescued can’t be released back into the wild. But it’s difficult for me to see these animals who should be roaming the oceans confined to a small tank.

Also, the dolphins were in a show, which is good in a way, because dolphins like to learn and perform. But this? This was a musical. It was pretty horrible.

So, for the most part, I loved the Georgia Aquarium, but I did not love seeing large mammals on display.