Could anyone tell me whether the flamingoland sea lions have two pools or not? I was looking on google earth and it seems to show what looks like another pool in the complex but I have not found any photos showing it. And on another note, are there 5 males present there at the moment, as ISIS suggests? Thanks.
Hi, The sealions at Flamingo Land actually have several pools. One is totally external (perhaps seen as a small pool off to the side on an aerial photo). Then there is the main pool, which extends from the inside area to the outside area, allowing all weather viewing. This pool also has underwater viewing. There are then extra holding pools/training pools, which are not on show to the public but you can just about see if you look through the fences, etc. Not sure how many males, there were four at one time.
Thank you very much! EDIT: Is there a "path" between the two pools that are on show? Or do the sea lions get "escorted" between the two by the keepers?
Yeah I know, thanks Cat-Man. I have quite an interest in the uk's dolphinaria history- it's fascinating stuff!
The small on show pool to the left of the entrance to the Sealion Centre is the saltwater pool. The animals are moved across the public area when the centre is closed (it is open only for shows). Benson the longstanding star of the show died earlier this year. I think he was 27 or 28. The current animals are Clive (unless I've always misheard it and it's Clyde, but I think it's Clive), Marvin, Merlin and Miguel. Clive had mostly been at Cleethorpes, with the odd stint at F L, but now he is the "big male" and, despite being appreciably smaller, the nearest in size to Benson.
I don't know probably not, although when Blackpool revamped their enclosure two females were moved to Flamingoland. They've never had a breeding group there (Have they?) the last time I visited I attended the talk and feed, the keeper said they were just holding young males, this may of course have changed as it was in 2007.
The sealions do not belong to Flamingo Land. They are owned and trained by a different company. The bird show is the same. My understanding is that this company have breeding females elsewhere, therefore do not need to breed from these males whilst they are at Flamingo Land. I guess that they are not included in any studbook.
That is true, they are not Flamingo Land's animals. A few years ago Matt Brash's television programme featured pregnancy testing of Sealions at F L, but it has been just males there for a while now as Jordan said.
