It is amazing at just how many seal/sea lion exhibits are opening this year in North American zoos. Fresno Chaffee, Blank Park, Saint Louis, Tulsa, National Zoo, Utah's Hogle Zoo and Edmonton's Valley Zoo are 7 pinniped exhibits that I believe all open within a few months of each other. Is this sheer coincidence or a new trend?
It is amazing at just how many seal/sea lion exhibits are opening this year in North American zoos. Fresno Chaffee, Blank Park, Saint Louis, Tulsa, National Zoo, Utah's Hogle Zoo and Edmonton's Valley Zoo are 7 pinniped exhibits that I believe all open within a few months of each other. Is this sheer coincidence or a new trend?
That is an interesting observation. LA Zoo also has a relatively new pinniped exhibit. Has there been a new AZA guideline for pinniped exhibits issued, similar to the elephant exhibit standards? The animal care standards are also controlled by the federal Marine Mammal Act (MMA), so there may be some new standards coming through that as well. At least one zoo in California, the Micke Grove Zoo, has fairly recently closed their sea lion exhibit because they determined that they did not have the resources to build a modern exhibit up to MMA requirements.
It is also interesting that besides all of the many seal/sea lion exhibits there has also been a long list of penguin and polar bear habitats constructed in the past decade in American zoos. A sudden surge in aquatic creatures is fascinating, and it would be nice if someone working in the industry knew if there had been an official push for a modernization of pinniped exhibits similar to what has occurred with elephants.
