Sealion Pool 5

looks nice but I don't think any larger than the previous enclosure and I think the water area may be the same?

I think the water area is slightly larger from previous, but not substantially. The sealions spent almost all day in there yesterday, apart from a bit of target training.

Does anyone know how much this cost? I'm just curious, as several American zoos have plans for new sea lion exhibits and the average cost is around $20 million or more for each complex. Crazy prices, but the filtration systems cost an absolute fortune.

The zoo were raising £250,000 for the build, a lot of which would have gone on the filtration system I guess.

I realise that Banham’s budget is tiny, compared to the amounts spent in the US, but this looks pretty underwhelming as an exhibit. Given the cost of “doing” such an exhibit well, I do wonder why the decision was made to persist with pinnipeds at the zoo. For a similar investment, something rather more exciting could have been developed for carnivores or primates....