Is manatee completely out of the question? Whilst bigger than seals they are much less vigorous. I can't really visualise the tank sizes from the numbers given.
That would be a dream for me, but with the American/Canadian woodland theming and the tank size I’m assuming not. I was trying to find earlier the size of the manatee enclosure in Paris as that seemed fairly cosy without being detrimental to the animal but couldn’t find it.
The images don’t make the pool look very deep. Waist height at most. That would surely rule out Manatees ?
I think the two images are of the same tank - i.e. below-water viewing and above-water viewing - so your "waist height" is just the viewing for the top of the tank, not the whole depth. However it is a relatively small tank, so I can't imagine what species of marine mammals it could hold other than Sea Otters.
I would have thought an indoor facility would be rather too warm for Sea Otters. Is it chilled? When I saw them at Den Blå Planet in Copenhagen, despite it being a cold January day on a windy sea-shore site, the otters were still bathing in buckets of iced water. Pure speculation on my part of course.
All three species of manatees have been kept at London Zoo in the past although only the West Indian manatee can really be called marine. Yes of course, the tank would be much too small as a sea cow could grow to a length of 9 metres (and big with it). Can anyone find a dugong in danger and rescue it?
London Zoo definitely had both West Indian and Amazonian manatees but are you sure about African manatee? The information on ZooTierListe, stating London Zoo had African manatee in the 1870s, is erroneous. London Zoo only had one manatee during the 1870s, the zoo's first manatee that arrived in 1875 and died after thirty-two days at the zoo This short-lived individual, a West Indian manatee, was the only manatee at London Zoo during the 1870s; the ZSL had no more manatees, African or otherwise, during that decade. London Zoo didn't acquire its second manatee until 1889. (Incidentally Westminster Aquarium had a manatee in 1878 and Brighton Aquarium had three manatees in 1879.)
First glimpse of Sea Life Birmingham's massive new two-floor attraction https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1211620912336825 These links include pictures and video footage of the construction of this exhibit.
Totally off topic here but how on earth did you transport a manatee across the world in 1870? So they are claiming it will be home to different animals and will involve rehab and release?
Its obviously Sea Otters. But I think the "other creatures as the need occurs" statement is a red herring.
I'm really puzzled over this whole "rescue centre" thing. It just doesn't make any logical sense and surely the public will see right through it. I'm convinced the otters they get won't be rescues at all, and will have just come from other zoos/aquariums. Time will tell I suppose.
It seems like it must be sea otters. But the prevailing wisdom is that they are basically impossible to acquire and for it to be Birmingham SeaLife of all places to get over that, well, it's a little surprising to say the least. And I agree with others' comments. The marketing is quite strange given all the facts we currently have.
Seems like Alaska Sealife are desperate to rehome as many as possible lately. They’ve made numerous news reports about being overwhelmed, so I don’t think it’s anything near as tricky as it was in the past.
