Fur Seal Exhibit at Halle, 04/09/11

Home to South American Fur Seals.

Why do the fur seals have a trampoline suspended above their exhibit? Is it so they'll bounce back into the exhibit in case they try to leap out and escape? [I know that this probably isn't a trampoline, but it was too fun not to speculate on it being one to resist.]

Are they small solar panels? I'm as perplexed as David.

I can only come up with two suggestions:

1) it's for shade - though this would be more for the visitors to the underwater viewing window than the animals (maybe the lattice is because a solid shade panel would catch the wind too much?)

2) architect's flight of fancy

Both very realistic options.

I didn't even notice any underwater viewing down there so it very well could be a shade cloth.

Having looked at my photo of the underwater viewing again (http://www.zoochat.com/131/fur-seal-exhibit-halle-04-09-a-244675/) I don't think it can be shade for visitors, as there's plenty from the structure of the viewing area itself. Odd.

I think (eight years later) that it's just an artistic representation of a sail?