In a place full of animals, you might expect a steady diet of smaller animals and fish, maybe even ground beef. A lot of our animals eat algae, and we can't let it build up on the tanks. It would restrict vision. Collards fill that void nicely. And meticulous attention is paid to how these dishes are prepared.
Mistakes can easily upset the delicate balance of life in the aquarium.
And spoiled or tainted food can be disastrous. These animals eat better than a lot of people I know. That doesn't count the salaries of the marine biologists, aviculturists and herpetologists who prepare the food and care for the animals. And it doesn't include the manhours put in by the aquarium's 60 volunteers who help them. On Tuesday morning, marine biologist Rachel Metz prepared a meal of smelt, ground beef, clams, grapes, carrots and hardboiled eggs for Ashley, Cooper and Edisto - the aquarium's popular river otters.