Merry…uh…Happy, no…hmmm, oh, Hooray, it’s HAGFISH DAY!!!
Welcome to WhaleTimes’ 17th annual Hagfish Day celebration!
Seventeen years? It’s not a gold or silver anniversary. It’s slime!
Seventeen years of exotic, unusual, some might suggest ugly — we prefer beauty-challenged — ocean animals.
The beautiful hagfish.
WhaleTimes created Hagfish Day (in 2009) to celebrate the beauty of ugly. Hagfish are the perfect example. These deep-sea scavengers ooze buckets of slime. They also play an important role in their ecosystem. WhaleTimes believes repugnant and slightly revolting animals like hagfish make great role models for highlighting conservation concerns for all marine animals.
“Sometimes it seems as if ecological causes are popularity contests that exclude the less attractive and less well-known, though equally vulnerable, creatures,” said WhaleTimes Director Ruth Musgrave. “There are species in peril that kids never hear about.”
How do you celebrate Hagfish Day? Classrooms, individuals and families can participate by making Hagfish Slime, writing , make or send a Hagfish Bouquet to a friend. It’s sure to be a good slime! Below are some Hagfish Day activities if you just can’t wait to celebrate the beauty of ugly.
What makes for a great Hagfish Day star? Animals that are a combination of unusual, endangered, and beauty challenged.
If you’ve fallen for the beauty that is hagfish, be sure to check out and share our Dear Hagfish letter.
Hagfish Stars Unveiled
- The star of Hagfish Day!
- Rice’s Whale: Hiding in Plain Sight
- Sea Lilies and Feather Stars (Crinoids)
- Carnivorous Deathball Sponge
- False Killer Whale in Hawaii
- Dear Hagfish
- Snot Bombs (Aka Upside-Down Jellyfish)
- Melon-headed whales
- Giant Frigatebird
- Hawaiian Monk Seal
- Barreleye
- black dragonfish
- Heteropods “…They’re kind of like little globs of snot looking for other snot-like creatures to eat…”
- Marine iguana
- Mighty Marine Microbes
- Rockhopper penguin
- Save the Planet, Wear Hagfish Slime
- Watch these amazing hagfish tying themselves in knots and eating shared by Dr. Andrew Clark:
Meet some Hagfish Day Fans (aka the experts)
- Douglas Fudge & Hagfish
- Andrew Clark & Hagfish Knots
- Kristine Clark & Heteropods
- Jeffrey Drazen & Hagfish
- Jeffrey Drazen and rattails
- Jeffrey Drazen & Barreleye Fish
- Joe Lopez & Marine Microbes
- Tracey Sutton & Dragonfish
WhaleTimes’ Hagfish Day Activities
Check out our Hagfish Day Activities. For example, show your friends you care, make them a Hagfish Bouquet. Don’t forget to add some Sea lilies and feather stars!
Hagfish Day Bouquet
About WhaleTimes, Inc.: WhaleTimes creates a connection between the ocean, ocean research, the researchers, and students through formal and informal education programs such as Hagfish Day. This connection ignites a passion for the ocean, inspires students to consider marine science as a career, and empowers kids to protect the ocean. WhaleTimes, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit marine science education organization.