Captain Bobo, a South American lungfish, has found a new home at the New England Aquarium.
He’s has actually been at the aquarium for years. But aside from a brief stint on display back in 2018, he’s all spent his time in Boston behind the scenes. With the aquarium’s new Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers exhibit, more visitors will finally be able to meet him.
Senior aquarist Allison Waltz-Hill is one of Captain Bobo’s biggest fans, but she admits he’s “not the most glamorous looking fish.” His body is grayish-brown and long like an eel, and he undulates to the surface when he needs air. Lungfishes have been around for at least 300 million years and have many characteristics linked to fishes that have been extinct for a long time.
Of course, Captain Bobo also stands out because of his unique name.
“He came to us without one of his eyes, and I guess there was a pirate reference there,” Waltz-Hill said, adding that it was an intern who came up with the name. “It was one of those silly names that we didn’t really expect to stick ... but now he couldn’t go by any other name.”
She said hopes were high when Captain Bobo arrived in 2018.
“He got along great with the other fishes and was really active,” recalled Waltz-Hill.
Then, as lungfish do in the wild, he started foraging for food in the ground. He was so forcefully rubbing his face on rough material in the habitat that he developed an abrasion on his nose. Staff moved him out.
“We tried a couple different approaches just to see if we could make this exhibit work for him. And it wasn’t working,” Waltz-Hill said. “We kind of got to the point where we realized that maybe we couldn’t display him in our exhibit, which was a bummer. We really love this fish.”
She said after they’d exhausted their options at the aquarium, they made plans to send Captain Bobo to another facility. That was in spring 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans fell through.
“It was a very lonely time for everyone. I was often by myself,” Waltz-Hill said. “I had a big empty tank right behind my desk in our freshwater gallery. And I ended up one day moving Captain Bobo into this tank behind my desk just because I wanted to be able to see him more often.”
That’s when she began to notice his curious personality.
“If I was standing next to his tank or if I was sitting at my computer working, he would actually come out of hiding in the habitat and kind of dance and swim around in front of the glass. It almost seemed like he was trying to get my attention,” she said.
She said Captain Bobo would exhibit the same behavior with other members of the staff when they stood near the tank, so they decided to introduce an enrichment toy containing treats. Captain Bobo responded well.
“Loneliness we think of as being a very human quality or a human emotion, and we oftentimes think of fish as maybe not having emotions or not needing as much stimulation,” Waltz-Hill said. “But fishes experience curiosity and need enrichment just the same way that humans do.”
Once the aquarium started planning the new Ancestral Fishes and African Rivers exhibit, they realized it meant another chance for their beloved lungfish.
“We were definitely nervous moving him. It was almost like sending your kid off to their first day of school and really wanting him to do well and be successful,” she said.
Captain Bobo passed with flying colors. Waltz-Hill said he is getting along with the other fish, has plenty of stimulation, and seems to be enjoying foraging and swimming in his new home.
Though Captain Bobo has moved on, he still has a place tucked away in Waltz-Hill’s office.
“I keep a framed photograph of him on my desk, just because he does actually have a quite endearing face,” she said.
