i would have secretly hoped that zoos victoria would buy the aquarium off oceanis group and relocate the seals there - however, the aquarium is in a small site in an inappropriate location. they had to aquire new land to do the penguin addition and even then it will still be a small aquarium, built underneath a bridge. they should have done it at docklands - not opposite the casino. i'll probably make a visit to see the penguins but it'll be only my second visit ever. it definately fails to impress....
i hate to say, but i agree with you pat, me and dad went over whilst mum and sis shopped, dad loves aquariums over zoos, and he wasnt impressed by melbourne. neither was i. it was nice, but just not very large, very crammed, and i just carnt put my fingure on why, maybe no realy big attractions? no seals, no huge sharks, and the 'oceanairum' just didnt do it for me. still i love anything with animals, and this was no different, it was just more dissapointing, and yes, antatric penguins will make it! on this, doe anyone know the procees of importing penguins, like do they follow same import standars of other birds- very hard!
the melbourne aquarium sucks balls, but its no worse than London aquarium, which is a real disappoinment of which the administration is no doubt nervous about the opening of ZSL's Biota in 2008 or 2009. and i believe it could be a good attraction, albeit a smaller one, once the redevelopment is finalised. the best aquariums going would have to be Sydney Aquarium, and AQWA in Western Australia, although the WA aquarium has a pretty bad seal exhibit. ironically, the opening of Great Southern Oceans at Taronga will probably mean the best marine-themed exhibits anywhere in the country, region or maybe even the world will actually be in a zoo! as for Seaworld, like i said hippos im cool with, but orcas, no. and i forgot about the dugongs, which could become star attractions given the right exhibit. lets just wait and see what happens. Seaworld might even end with Giant Pandas. It is Queensland after all and pandas surf, dont they? lol
Sorry to bring up an old thread but on the Village Roadshow website there is a poll asking what the pblic would like to see at Seaworld. One option is underwater hippo viewing but another interesting option is a 'whale show'. I wonder what they could be planning?
There won't be whales in captivity in Australia any time soon, I suspect (and hope). What is the link to this poll?
Sorry, this poll is via email as a general census. I Understand there might not be any 'whales' (ie. orcas) soon but Seaworld might be wanting to display further dolphin species/sub-species in new exhibits with underwater viewing rather than in the large pools they currently have.
A new exhibit named 'Seal Harbour' is opening soon housing sealsand sea lions. Here is a photo: Facebook
Are the harbour seals not on display anymore? According to the census they are down to 2.0, and listed as delete by attrition, so I doubt any effort will be put into constructing anything specifically for them.
my understanding was that they haven't been on display for a long time (?) (I haven't been there, and I may be confusing it with something else).
I saw them in 2003 (I think that's the right year), they were in part of a circular enclosure, with rocks in the centre and water around the outside, covered with shade sails. I can't see this on the 2008 map, so I guess it has gone now. Maybe replaced by the Dora stage show. I imagine the new exhibit will be for the Australian Sea Lions, Subantarctic Fur Seals and New Zealand Fur Seals (as these don't appear to be on display anywhere). I think the Californian Sea Lions are used for the shows.
The complex will exhibit up to 20 Australian sea lions, Californian sea lions, New Zealand fur seals and sub-Antarctic fur seals. Supposedly, it will be the biggest pinniped complex in Australia that will have three areas, inncluding a nursery pool. The public will also have the opportunity to feed the sea lions and furseals. Hope this photo works: Google Image Result for http://www.goldcoast.com.au/images/gallery/remote/2012/08/22/1415789.jpg
Theres an article on the development here: Sea World to open new seal exhibit Gold Coast Attractions - Theme Parks | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia It should be open by Christmas. There are artists impressions here: Artist's impressions of Seal Harbour - Photo Gallery | Gold Coast Bulletin - Australia | goldcoast.com.au It looks very functional with no natural features whatsover, with the only land being artificial platforms. This seems quite different to other Sea World exhibits, which are much more naturalistic.
There is a link.Taxonomically, hippos are related on a molecular basis to whales and share ancestors that are 40 million years apart. I think it will be a great addition and another chance to maybe return to QLD. Look forward to seeing some plans in the future.
I think this has been missed, but pretty big news. SeaWorld will be getting gorillas (!!), hippos (!!), crocodiles and other animals in 2015 as part of a new attraction called SeaWorld Wild: Gorillas on theme at Sea World Local Gold Coast News | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and Sea World Gold Coast to get jungle with gorillas. Yes gorillas | News.com.au And slightly smaller news, but 4 Gentoo penguins have hatched with 9 more expected to hatch: More Happy Feets born at Sea World | News.com.au
Well, apart from this thread: http://www.zoochat.com/24/seaworld-gold-coast-acquiring-gorillas-hippos-301542/ I will try and make that a "Sea World" thread so it shows up in searches.
