What happens in the aquarium, no longer stays in the aquarium! The tides have changed, the doors flung wide, the sharing season is in session!
Today we meet Megan. Forging a career borne from a love of animals, she can be found here at Blue Reef Aquarium building bonds from rocky starts with various octopus’ residents, embracing the aquarist life and all it entails, and occasionally, and literally, slip sliding through her day!
Without further ado, let’s meet Megan.
Blue Reef: Hi Megan, thank you for taking the time to shed light on the controlled chaos of aquarium life. Could I start by getting an overview of your time at Blue Reef Aquarium?
Megan:I’ve spent my entire life living by the sea. Growing up, any time the sun peeked through the clouds, myself and my family would head straight to the beach and you would’ve struggled to get me out of the water. Even the days that are a little bleaker we would always at the beach with the dogs.
As a child, I remember I would always beg to stay up later to be able to watch David Attenborough documentaries and even Countryfile because I was enamoured with the diversity of the life on our planet. Coming from a family of animal lovers, it was only right I pursued a career studying and working with animals.
For me to achieve this, thousands of hours were dedicated to volunteering for different charities and organisations to gain a solid CV and be able to begin applying for jobs within the field. This ranged from volunteering at my local fish shop, becoming a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Medic, volunteering at zoos and aquariums as well as the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.
This was incredibly difficult – balancing my studies, volunteering, and paid cafe/bar work – at times I knew I had taken on way too much but it set in stone what I wanted to do as a career. With all this, I was able to be accepted into my role here before I officially graduated university.
Blue Reef: That sounds like an incredible amount of dedication! Huge respect for chasing and achieving dreams. On the back of finding yourself now a working aquarist, do you have any favourite memories of your time so far at Blue Reef?
Megan: Being introduced to Calypso (our previous Common Octopus) for the first time.
I was really nervous meeting her because she was quite a large common and every other octopus that I had worked with before had taken a real dislike towards me (they get their favourites easily).
They always got me soaked squirting water at me; they would go spiky when I would walk past, and try to pull me when I had to help clean their tank. I don’t know what I said or did to offend them but clearly, I had, haha!
Calypso could tell I was nervous. She was playing quite rough with the other aquarist, however, when I offered my hand she gently reached out and held it for a couple of minutes before letting go. I fell in love with octopus ever since.
Blue Reef: That must have been a real moment, and something that can only happen in this walk of life. However, every great day has its flip side, so, are there any days you’d rather forget?
Megan: It’s important to remember that water + floor = a slippery floor! An important lesson for working in an aquarium, surrounded by water. Another lesson to remember when working within this industry is to remain calm under pressure and definitely not panicking…
One day, I put our pump on in order to supply the aquarium with nice clean salt water so we could continue with daily maintenance. It is vital to keep this in mind and to listen out for when the alarm sounds to tell us when it’s full.
A quick side note: my boss doesn’t know about this.
Well, in my own little world, cracking on with feeding and tank maintenance I enter our quarantine to find a sizeable puddle on the floor with water creeping out from one of our drains. Confused as to where this water was coming from, I stood there for a couple of seconds thinking. I radio my colleague to ask if they might know.
*ALARM SOUNDING*
Then it clicked. The pump. I sprinted to turn the pump off. I ran through the yard to begin draining it down slightly. It had been raining. Up my feet go, way above my head, as my bottom slams against the decking. Luckily, the water only spread across the concrete floor and the only damage to occur was the bruise on my bum.
Just like a swimming pool, don’t run through an aquarium. That’s my lesson learned.
Blue Reef: Wow! Definitely one to forget! And rest assured, I have it on good authority, that your boss (and mine) never reads these. Or, if he does, he never comes over to me, slaps me heartily on the back and says ‘Grand work! That was a fascinating read again!’ Which he definitely would…right?
Moving swiftly on, do you have any favourite tanks in the aquarium?
Megan: Aside from our Dragon Wrasse, definitely our African Clawed Frogs. They are so funny to feed. Watching their bums jiggle as they try to shovel the worms into their mouth as quickly as they can. They can’t seem to eat them quick enough.
Hear Megan talk about the Dragon Wrasse tank here
Blue Reef: What advice would you give someone wanting this career? Other than ‘Don’t run through the aquarium!’
Megan: You’re going to get tired. You’re going to ache. Some days are going to be incredibly physically and emotionally draining. But, if you’re serious about a career in the animal care industry, stick at it. The rewards will pay off.
Blue Reef: That’s a very nice, honest overview. When you one day call it a day at the aquarium, what song will be playing as you walk away (or possibly run, slip, get up, and then walk away).
Megan: You Get What You Give by the New Radicals or anything from the Surfs Up soundtrack really.
Blue Reef: When you’re not busy befriending an octopus, what do your days off look like?
Megan: Don’t be surprised if you find me curled up on the sofa with some snacks watching comfort films and documentaries on a rainy day.
Other than that, I love to go diving and snorkelling to see all of our local wildlife in their natural habitat. Or, getting a coffee and going for a nice long walk along the coast.
Blue Reef: Days well spent! Now, onto the bit that, if he ever read them, I bet our boss would love! It’s the quickfire questions round.
What was the last film to make you cry?
Megan: My Octopus Teacher. When it came out, I read the synopsis and my initial thoughts was “this sounds a bit naff! A guy trying to befriend an octopus?” Watched it and believe me when I tell you I balled my eyes out. It was brilliant!
Blue Reef: What song gets you moving?
Megan: Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex…IYKYK
Blue Reef: What book can you never forget?
Megan: One of my favourites is Waterlog by Roger Deakin. Poetically written about wild swimming, our right to roam, and the deep human connection to water. Highly recommend.
Blue Reef: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
Megan: I adore Cornwall. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!
But, my dream destination would have be the Azores/Madeira. I went to the Azores on my final year field course with my University and I’m dying to go back! It’s the perfect location if you love Cetaceans.
Blue Reef: What superpower would you choose?
Megan: I feel as though talking to animals has to be the obvious answer. It would make our lives so much easier!
Blue Reef: And to close, which four dream guests would you invite to a dinner party?
Megan: Robin Williams, Jacques Cousteau, Bob Mortimer, Steve Backshall.
And with that, Megan was away again to care for an aquarium of…Megan! Slow down! The floors wet!
*CRASH*
Anyone seen the accident book?
