Oregon Zoo divers venture underwater to maintain animal habitats

PORTLAND (InvestigateTV) — Scuba divers at the Oregon Zoo venture beneath thousands of gallons of water daily to help keep underwater habitats clean for the animals that call them home.

The zoo’s dive team operates in multiple tanks throughout the facility, with volunteers working alongside staff to maintain the aquatic environments. Micah Reese, the Oregon Zoo’s dive safety officer, said the team conducts dives every day.

“When I was young, I wanted to scuba dive. I grew up in south central Alabama, landlocked, nowhere to scuba dive,” Reese said. “But now I’ve found my own ocean in Portland.”

New communication system connects divers with guests

The zoo recently added an underwater communication system that allows divers to speak with visitors while working in the tanks. David Steinburg, a longtime dive volunteer, donated the equipment to enhance the guest experience.

“I had an idea about utilizing underwater communication systems that really excited me for the ability to talk with the public like we’re doing now, and this is the very first time I’ve done it. It’s fascinating,” Steinburg said.

The system transforms what was once a silent observation into an interactive conversation, allowing guests to ask questions about the marine life and diving operations.

Kelp forest habitat requires specialized maintenance

The kelp forest habitat, which holds 16,000 gallons of water and reaches depths of 23 feet, houses fish native to the Pacific Northwest. Divers clean glass, vacuum debris, remove algae from walls and search for baby anemones during their underwater work.

“Everything we’re looking at here is native to the northwest,” Reese said. “When divers are in the water, oftentimes you’re doing your work, you look to your right and you will have a rockfish staring at you, observing. They’re very curious. They’re like cats.”

The tank contains more than 30 fish, including perch and rockfish, along with sea anemones attached to rocks that occasionally move around the habitat.

Volunteer brings decades of diving experience

Steinburg has been diving since 1993 and completed his 501st dive at the zoo during a recent cleaning session. He said the variety of tanks keeps the volunteer work interesting.

“The wonderful part about diving at the zoo is you don’t know which tank you’re going to be in until you get here,” Steinburg said. “For someone who loves to dive, I get to go in the water basically every week.”

Even the zoo’s polar bear, Nora, shows interest in the diving operations. Reese said she appears fascinated by dive equipment and looks ready to join the underwater work.

The strangest item divers have discovered in the tanks was a tortilla, which they believe may have been dropped by a crow.