California Academy of Sciences Begins Epic Animal Migration

The animals are moving – but not in twosies, twosies and not elephants and kangaroosies, roosies. And woe to he who hates snakes.

By Joe Eskenazi

All of us have lost something or other while moving: a pair of socks, a box of books, or Cousin Eric.

In the long run, however, it wasn’t such a big deal. You can buy more socks or books and Aunt Rita and Uncle Steve still have another kid.

But if the California Academy of Sciences loses something during its epic move next month, it will be a very big deal indeed. Should any of its precious cargo walk away – or slither, or fly – city residents will, quite literally, be frightened to death.

The venerable San Francisco museum will end its Babylonian captivity on Howard Street in late January and begin moving its collections “back” into its completely new Golden Gate Park digs (built on the site of its old home).

Those collections, incidentally, include millions of animals, both living and dead. And there’s something in here...

to terrify everyone, be it Indiana Jones (snakes), Captain Hook (alligators) or the known world (millions of spiders and bugs).

Simply put, this is not one of those rent a U-Haul and bribe your buds into working with pizza and beer-jobs.

Among the most difficult “items” of the 38,000 Steinhart Aquarium denizens to be transported:

• A septuagenarian Australian lungfish;

• A 58-year-old Alligator gar;

• A giant sea bass;

• An albino alligator.

There’ll also be 14.5 million insects and arachnids, including more than 874,789 flies, nearly 3 million beetles, and more than 700,000 butterflies and moths. There’s also a six-foot-long pile worm preserved in a glass tube, 200,000 preserved fish specimens and the last Grizzly Bear in California.

On Jan. 3, the museum will be hosting a media day explaining to the ink-stained wretches of the world how the hell they’re going to be transporting all of these beasties. And SF Weekly will be there, with a camera.

Until then, sleep tight and don’t let the pile worms bite.