Seal Harbour is a seal and sea lion exhibit at the
Sea World theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
on the
Gold Coast,
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 ...
. It officially opened to the public in January 2013.
History
Seals and sea lions have been part of Sea World for many years. Dedicated seal and sea lion shows have been running in the park since December 1996. These include ''
Quest for the Golden Seal'', ''
Seals Aboard'' and ''
Fish Detectives''.
The ''
Seals at Play'' exhibit was located in the centre of the park near the Carousel. The exhibit featured two separate enclosures under a circular shade. In 2005, a seal exhibit named ''
Seal Rocks'' was proposed for the area where
Ray Reef now stands.
It was intended to replace the Seals at Play exhibit; however, the proposal never progressed and the exhibit was cancelled.
On 9 July 2007, the Seals at Play exhibit was closed to make way for an expansion of
Sesame Street Beach.
The seal population formerly on display in the exhibit was relocated to areas in the park's
back of house
In the performing arts, the front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium, and foyers, as opposed to the front stage and backstage areas. In a ...
.
On 22 August 2012, Sea World officially announced that they would be adding ''Seal Harbour''.
The exhibit would house up to 20 seals and sea lions and would open by December 2012.
At the time of the announcement, construction was well underway.
In early January 2013, the area
soft opened
A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it wide ...
to the public before an official opening on 25 January 2013.
Exhibit
The Seal Harbour exhibit features a pool that is divided into three areas.
The exhibit has a sandy bottom as well as a white sand beach.
Guests can watch the seals and sea lions from a variety of locations around the pool and above the pool on clear
boardwalk
A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...
s.
Guests also have the opportunity to hand-feed fish to the inhabitants.
Seal Harbour can feature up to 20 inhabitants, including
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 ...
s,
California sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...
s,
New Zealand fur seals and
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 ...
s.
As of January 2012, a collection of nine animals inhabit the exhibit, including California sea lions as well as New Zealand and subantarctic fur seals.
See also
*
List of former Sea World attractions for information about previous seal and sea lion exhibits
References
External links
*
Artist's impressions of Seal Harbour
{{Sea World
Amusement rides introduced in 2013