Critter Profile: Wobbles!

Overview!

Name: Wobbles Species: Orectolobus maculatus (Spotted Wobbegong) Primary Caretaker: Aquatics Team, Albert Westrin Diet: Anchovies, crabs, mollusks, and sardines. (He absolutely loves tuna as a treat!) Housed: Marine Enclosure 1





Creature Features!

'Wobbles' is our name for a Wobbegong we've come into custody of recently. You read that right, a Wobbegong! More specifically, he's a Spotted Wobbegong. If you don't know what a Wobbegong is, it's a type of carpet shark only found near Western Australia. That's right, Wobbles is an Australian shark. Now that's something you don't see everyday here in Oregon! Being a type of carpet shark, Wobbles is excellent at hiding. He uses the carpet-like pattern on his back to blend into the ocean floor. He also uses the beard-like protrusions on his jaw to blend into plant life, making it harder for prey and predator to spot him. Sometimes even we can't find him in his Enclosure! As you might imagine, that makes it a little hard for Old Albert to keep an eye on him. What makes Wobbles strange is that he's impossible to touch. I don't mean that he's just slippery or aggressive, it is literally impossible to touch his skin. No matter what we do, we can't grab, pet, or caress him. Anything that tries coming into contact with him seems to just bounce right off. We're not exactly sure if he's fully in control of this ability, but one thing is clear; Wobbles does not like being touched!

History!

Wobbles doing his best to blend in!

We first found out about Wobbles after some folks over at Cannon Beach started making waves about a strange-looking critter making the rounds. They said something about how it would slip right through nets and almost repel touch. There were also rumors about some shady folks trying to catch him and failing, so we set out to see if we could grab him and give Wobbles a proper home. We first found out about Wobbles after some folks over at Cannon Beach started making waves about a strange-looking critter making the rounds. They said something about how it would slip right through nets and almost repel touch. There were also rumors about some shady folks trying to catch him and failing, so we set out to see if we could grab him and give Wobbles a proper home. As you can probably tell, we succeeded! But I'll be darned if our little selachian friend didn't drive us nuts in the process. Gillnetting didn't work, lobster cages were too small for Wobbles, and longline fishing could potentially hurt other critters, so we didn't even bother trying that. Alex suggested we baited him with a magnetic object, then turned on a high-power magnet, but we don't have that kind of budget here. Just as we were running out of ideas, Old Albert suggested we trap him in a tank, as it looked like he wasn't able to displace water. We quickly got to work and submerged the biggest tank we could get our hands on and loaded up with bait, then set up the lid to close at our command.. A few hours of patiently waiting and monitoring the camera feed, and presto! We were able to capture our new friend and bring him back home. Wobbles made sure to let us know he didn't like anyone closing their hands near him, as the poor little guy would swim away the moment we shut our hands, even to grab some chum for him. He's gotten more trusting around people recently, especially Old Albert, whose arthritis won't let him close his hands all the way. A match made in heaven! Despite having made a friend, Wobbles is still pretty elusive. It seems like our sneaky friend highly values his privacy, which is something we can respect.

Special Needs and Accommodations!

Wobbles shares his enclosure with a few other animals; namely a pair of dolphins, some harbor seals, and an octopus. He doesn't need much, but we did add some hiding places for him since he seems to be wary of everything and everyone for the moment. Every once in a while we'll have to change around the locations of the hiding places as he'll only use them each a few times. It looks like he can be a little picky. EDIT: After the unfortunate incident on 06/22/2025, we've had to start vetting our volunteers a little more thoroughly. It's really putting a strain on the old checkbook and slowing things down a tick, but it's worth it to make sure the critters at this here Center are safe and sound!

Notes about Wobbles!