Saving the Nautilus

I have always been fascinated by Nautilus so I was very happy to find your site and your effort on behalf of these beauties of the deep. I had somehow grown up to think that Nautilus were long extinct, so it was a wonderful surprise to learn that they still swam the ocean but a terrible sadness to read that they were endangered due to human harvesting of their shells. It is heart warming to find http://savethenautilus.com and people that want to help the Nautilus keep chugging along for another 500 million years (or more!).

I recently saw several Nautilus at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Tentacles exhibit: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/tentacles They were amazing to behold, just a transparent pane separating me from so many tentacles extending from their spiral chambers . After a lifetime of thinking that they were gone, I felt as one feels when you meet a legend. Sadly, it was there, after first meeting these marvelous creatures, that I learned that they are endangered. I wrote the aquarium an email 'Nautilus are Headliners' (text available here: http://k0s.org/blog/20150518001007 ), pleading to have the Nautilus, this most tentacled and most venerable of the cephalopods, added to the subtitle of the 'Tentacles ' exhibit. All of the cephalopods are intelligent, fascinating, and personable creatures, though the Nautilus holds a special place in my heart.

I recently bought one of each of your shirts: one for myself and one for my wife. I bought them because I like the art works and because I thought it'd be a good way to help the Nautilus and raise awareness of their plight. I also really like the text : "not just an empty shell". Before I had learned that they were in danger, I had wanted a Nautilus shell. I was dealing with very dated information that stated that most shells washed up on beaches, not the sad modern reality where Nautilus are lured to slaughter for their beautiful shells. I like the idea of the Nautilus giving up their shells when they are done with them before greed and modern diving techniques spoiled it. After finding out that they were threatened, I've been saddened the thankfully few times I've seen Nautilus shells for sale. I was in an antique store recently where, for the only time, I held a Nautilus shell. After seeing the marvelous Nautilus with my own eyes, the shell seemed very empty indeed without the Nautilus inside.

Much gratitude for your website and charity. Since discovering the plight of the Nautilus in recent years, I have been looking for a place where I might contribute towards helping our deep sea friends. Thank you for making this possible, and congratulations on your success and best wishes for more to come. Thank you for helping the Nautilus!