Sea Life Sunshine Coast at

Mooloolaba Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 8, ...

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

is a

marine mammal park A marine mammal park (also known as marine animal park and sometimes oceanarium) is a commercial theme park or aquarium where marine mammals such as dolphins, beluga whales and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in ...

oceanarium An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale Public aquarium, aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine (ocean), marine animals, especially large ocean dwe ...

and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. Sea Life Sunshine Coast is an institutional member of the

Zoo and Aquarium Association The Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) Australasia was established in 1991. Its vision is to create "Positive Outcomes for Wildlife and People." The organisation operates throughout the Australasia region (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Gui ...

(ZAA). The attraction is a

Sea Life Centre Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the wo ...

owned by

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

, and is globally referred to as Sea Life Sunshine Coast by the firm. It was formerly known as UnderWater World.

History

UnderWater World officially opened in 1989. Several scenes in the

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

1996 film '' Police Story 4: First Strike'' were shot in the park, including a scene in the main aquarium. In one of the scenes, a tourist family is visible in the reflection on one of the tanks. During the period of Christmas on 2006 UnderWater World had a

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, ...

preserved in a block of ice on display. In July 2013, UnderWater World's owners,

, announced that they would be spending $6.5 million on the refurbishment of the facilities. As part of the process, the aquarium was rebranded as a

and relaunched in December 2013.

Exhibits

Some examples of the largest exhibits at the aquarium include: ;Ocean Tunnel A moving walkway in an

shark tunnel A shark tunnel (or aquarium tunnel, acrylic tunnel and exhibit tunnel) is an underwater tunnel that passes through an aquarium, typically with sharks and related aquatic life. They are usually made of thick acrylic glass. The first aquarium tunne ...

under the

takes visitors past several viewing windows, with fish swimming all around the walkway. The exhibit includes three separate habitats: coral reef, cave and open ocean. Its residents include

grey nurse shark The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), grey/gray nurse shark (in Australia), spotted ragged-tooth shark (in South Africa), or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabit ...

tawny nurse shark The tawny nurse shark (''Nebrius ferrugineus'') is a species of carpet shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae, and the only extant member of the genus '' Nebrius''. It is found widely along coastlines in the Indo-Pacific, preferring reefs, sa ...

grey reef shark The grey reef shark or gray reef shark (''Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos'', sometimes misspelled ''amblyrhynchus'' or ''amblyrhinchos'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family (biology), family Requiem shark, Carcharhinidae. One of the most com ...

whitetip reef shark The whitetip reef shark (''Triaenodon obesus'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus. A small shark that does not usually exceed in length, this species is easily recognizable by its sle ...

blacktip reef shark The blacktip reef shark (''Carcharhinus melanopterus'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family (biology), family Carcharhinidae, which can be easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins (especially on the first dorsal fin and ...

leopard shark The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family (biology), family Houndshark, Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically ...

ornate wobbegong The ornate wobbegong (''Orectolobus ornatus'') is a species of carpet shark that lives in Australia and possibly other countries in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is coloured golden brown, yellow-green and blueish-grey, and it grows to maximum . ...

rays Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

giant grouper The giant grouper (''Epinephelus lanceolatus''), also known as the Queensland groper (grouper), brindle grouper or mottled-brown sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the fa ...

potato cod The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

s, snappers and trevallies. One resident, a brown whipray has lived at the aquarium since 1989. In November 2011, the shark tank and moving walkway were closed for an upgrade. ;Seal Island There are six seals at Sea Life Sunshine Coast: Long-nosed fur seals Birubi, Moana, Saturday and Sly;

Subantarctic fur seal The subantarctic fur seal (''Arctocephalus tropicalis'') is a species of arctocephaline found in the southern parts of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. It was first described by Gray in 1872 from a specimen recovered in northern Austra ...

Nelson and

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently Monotypic taxon, monotypic in the genus ''Neopho ...

Teiko, who are the residents of the main ''Seal Island'' exhibit.

Little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is the smallest species of penguin. It originates from New Zealand. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage and is also known by ...

s are a recent addition to the aquarium, with a specially built exhibit constructed for a family of them. ;Other exhibits include: ''Bay of Rays'', ''Billabong'', ''Coastal Wrecks'', ''Coral Kingdom'', ''Freshwater Streams'', ''Frogs'', ''Jellyfish Kingdom'', ''Seahorse Sanctuary'' and ''Tidal Touchpools''.

Shows and talks

Sea Life Sunshine Coast presents

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

shows and wildlife information talks, and has hands-on marine displays. Shows at the park include: *Seal Shows in the Seal Stadium *Stingray Reef talks *Ocean Tunnel Tours *Touch Pool *Jellyfish Tours *Behind the Scenes Tours

Conservation

Sea Life Sunshine Coast is a rehabilitation centre for

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, and other marine animals.

References

External links

* {{Merlin Entertainments Aquaria in Australia Oceanaria Maroochydore Tourist attractions on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Sea Life Centres Merlin Entertainments Group Buildings and structures on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Zoos in Queensland 1989 establishments in Australia