She didn't know what an aquarist was. Now, she leads the sea jellies team at Singapore Oceanarium

## Summary
Ms Vivian Cavan (left) and her team member Ms Vera Ngin transferring ephyrae of sea jellies from a bowl to a mason jar of clean water, at the aquarist lab in the Singapore Oceanarium on Feb 25, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong) Ms Cavan is a self-professed workaholic. Ms Vivian Cavan, an lead animal care specialist at the Singapore Oceanarium, looking at a habitat of moon jellies at the aquarist lab on Feb 25, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong) She also quickly found out that much of sea jelly work, unlike with fish, takes place out of the water. Ms Vivian Cavan, a lead animal care specialist at the Singapore Oceanarium, dived into the moon jellies’ habitat to clean it on Mar 3, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong) With only a basic understanding of aquatic husbandry, such as harvesting food and maintaining habitats, Ms Cavan embarked on a journey of intense self-study. Ms Vivian Cavan (right), a lead animal care specialist at the Singapore Oceanarium, transferring ephyrae of sea jellies from a bowl and to a mason jar of clean water on Mar 3, 2026.

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She didn't know what an aquarist was. Now, she leads the sea jellies team at Singapore Oceanarium
After leaving a stable retail career in her 20s, Vivian Cavan took a leap into the unknown. Nearly a decade on, she's still learning and chasing challenge after challenge in the murky world of sea jellies, often wrongly called "jellyfish".
Ms Vivian Cavan is a lead animal care specialist at the Singapore Oceanarium. She leads the animal care team for sea jellies, which are often wrongly called "jellyfish". (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
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Tang Jia Wen
Tang Jia Wen
28 Mar 2026 09:30PM
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In the aquarist lab of the Singapore Oceanarium, I watched Ms Vivian Cavan transfer hundreds of baby sea jellies from one vessel to another with a pipette.
It was a painstaking process – each baby is barely larger than a grain of rice and needs to be handled with the utmost care and attention.
Watching Ms Cavan, 38, do this delicate work, I couldn't help but feel slightly stressed. But I seemed to be the only one.
"This doesn't even feel like work to me," she said without missing a beat, sounding every bit as relaxed as she appeared.
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Just minutes before, in the quiet of the oceanarium before the crowds arrived, the lead animal care specialist had been making her morning rounds. Her energy had been completely different then, efficient and exacting
as she moved briskly between habitats, sharp eyes roving over each one to ensure nothing was out of the ordinary.
Ducking into the lab and joining her team in the routine cleaning of the habitats, she relaxed almost immediately.
For her, entering the lab seemed to be akin to coming home for any other person. Earlier that morning, she had candidly admitted having nerves about media interviews; now, those nerves seemed to dissipate instantly.
Ms Vivian Cavan (left) and her team member Ms Vera Ngin transferring ephyrae of sea jellies from a bowl to a mason jar of clean water, at the aquarist lab in the Singapore Oceanarium on Feb 25, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
Ms Cavan is a self-professed workaholic. Sea jellies are always on her mind, so much so that she can sometimes even come across as "insensitive" to others, she confessed with a laugh.
Once during a morning briefing, she noticed a young team member with swollen eyes and immediately pointed out that she might have difficulty handling the tiny baby sea jellies, also known as ephyrae.
That team member nodded and said nothing.
Only later did Ms Cavan learn, from other colleagues, that the woman had been crying all night over a breakup.
Nine years into the job, Ms Cavan's fascination with sea jellies has led her to build a life that she readily admits revolves around the creatures. Her family and friends have come to expect it.
"They think I'm obsessed. They know that if they want to get me something, just buy sea jelly merchandise."
She has amassed a sizeable collection of sea jelly-themed
keepsakes from around the world – books, soft toys, figurines and so on – but keeps them carefully stored away, rarely bringing them out for fear of damage.
On the name "sea jellies", the oceanarium is quick to insist they should not be called "jellyfish" even though this is a widely-used term. Unlike fish, sea jellies have no gills, fins and backbones, it said.
Given Ms Cavan's passion and confidence, it was a surprise to discover that not only had she never expected to end up working in an oceanarium,
prior to being employed as one, she had not even known what an aquarist was. For the record, an aquarist manages aquariums, and is involved in the care of aquatic creatures.
FROM RETAIL TO REEF
Ms Cavan got her first taste of a working life earlier than most. In 2005, upon completing her O-Level examinations, she began part-time position at a pet store.
"I've always loved animals and would volunteer regularly at shelters.
But it'd be with mammals like dogs, cats, and rabbits," she said.
What was meant to be a temporary role stretched to nearly seven years, as she continued working there while attending polytechnic in pursuit of a marketing diploma.
Over time, her responsibilities at the store grew and grew. She initially started out part-time while in poly, before converting to a full-time role after graduation. Within a few years, she h

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Progress came slowly – built through small adjustments, repeated trials and long hours of observation.
- Working with live animals also meant Ms Cavan had to rethink her fundamental notions of success and failure.
- Compared to her prior experience with the rapidly expanding pet store chain, she now had to recalibrate her expectations in an environment where experiments and efforts do not always succeed, and progress could be slow.

### Areas for Consideration
- Nearly a decade on, she's still learning and chasing challenge after challenge in the murky world of sea jellies, often wrongly called "jellyfish".
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Just minutes before, in the quiet of the oceanarium before the crowds arrived, the lead animal care specialist had been making her morning rounds.
- When she was first asked to join the team, her initial concern was whether she would be stung – a concern soon put to rest by the assurance of protective gear.

### Implications
- Ms Vivian Cavan is a lead animal care specialist at the Singapore Oceanarium.
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Just minutes before, in the quiet of the oceanarium before the crowds arrived, the lead animal care specialist had been making her morning rounds.
- Once during a morning briefing, she noticed a young team member with swollen eyes and immediately pointed out that she might have difficulty handling the tiny baby sea jellies, also known as ephyrae.
- Her family and friends have come to expect it. "They think I'm obsessed.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers sea, cavan, jellies topics. Notable strengths include discussion of sea. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 2609.