I don't really understand it at all. Both animals were on display when I visited (twice, most recently Dec 2013) but possibly separated, I don't remember it being obvious that they were kept apart though.
when I was there in 2010 there was just the one on display and the guy feeding out the lettuce did not want to admit there were two at the aquarium! It was really weird. I had just casually asked him where the other dugong was (I didn't know until today that they were always/usually kept separate) and he did not want to waver from the "no, we only have one" line.
That's only going to make the situation worse due to people starting rumours about the apparent disappearance of one of their dugongs (which isn't a particularly inconspicuous species).
I still haven't been to any of the East Coast aquariums since they were Merlinised. Just don't see the point, really.
go on! Go to Melbourne Aquarium! It is true that it has many tragic parts, like all the lurid colours and Disney set-pieces and impossible-to-view-through bubble tanks and half-arsed conservation posters and out-of-place abandoned temples and monstrous golden mermaid statues and .... wait, I forgot where I was going with that. Oh yeah, but it has some nice animals Honestly, I did like it despite all the many many SeaLifisms there. Wow, that did not come out well at all!
$30.40 (online price) is an awfully large amount of money to pay to go and see something and reflect on how far removed it is from what it was. I never quite loved Melbourne Aquarium in the first place, and I fear I would hate it now.
I was there in 2011 and saw them both, in the same tank, not separated. What nonsense is that, 'they need to be separated'? They are dugongs, not Siberian tigers or something!
Just visited Sea Life Sydney today, both dugongs are on display but kept separated in their own half of the tank. The staff said Pig the male might show aggression towards Wuru the female, and that they did not want breeding as reasons for the separation. A number of fish in the aquarium, especially in the small displays, did not look healthy.
Dugong feeding encounter available from 1st November: http://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/news/dugong-feeding/
A dead frill shark accidentally caught in Victorian waters will go on display: Tourism operators and scientists interested in rare, frilled shark discovery - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
A new permanent exhibit is in construction featuring "11 new displays plus an amazing interactive experience using state of the art digital technology": Excuse our mess
Little blue penguin hatched at Sydney Aquarium (FB ) : https://www.facebook.com/wildlifesydney/videos/10153000236567531/
A new "Jurassic Seas" exhibit has been opened featuring "nautilus, Port Jackson sharks, jellyfish, lung fish and other unusual creatures that lived in pre-historic times": https://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/news/dinosaur-visit/
Article on the success of the self-titled "breed, rescue and protect" initiatives by the aquarium in 2015: https://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/news/breed-rescue-protect-2015/
The aquarium is planning a new sub-antarctic penguin exhibit. Sub-Antarctic Penguin Supervisor | Zoo and Aquarium Association
The penguin exhibit is coming along nicely by the sounds, and they have filled the pool now. It will include a boat ride "through the exhibit" but presumably there will always be glass between visitors and penguins? The exhibit will open in November, but the penguins arrive from Melbourne Aquarium at the end of this month. Does anyone definitely know where this exhibit will be located? I'm assuming it takes over the freshwater section area nearest the entrance? For more info, and video, see: https://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/news/float-the-boat-penguin-expedition/
there's a video here from just a few months ago showing their concept - the boat is on a channel (think Singapore's River Safari but colder) and the penguins are behind glass, both underwater and on land. It's interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YAfXphqIh8 From the video in zooboy28's link it looks like the visitor viewing (by foot) will also be in the same temperature as the exhibit, if that overhead walkway is how it appears.
