Zoos in South Carolina?
- Thread starter sallie
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- seals south carolina
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
Riverbanks has Harbor Seals. (Plus California Sea Lions, too.)
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Riverbanks is the only one, and they have a single harbor seal. Their current seal also seems to be very shy based on my experience, or maybe it's kept off exhibit for extended periods of time - it's a very rare occurrence for me to actually see it. The sea lions are pretty much guaranteed sightings, at least.
I of course don't know what your specific circumstances are, but in neighboring states you've got Georgia Aquarium and North Carolina Zoo with harbor seals as well, where they're much easier to actually lay eyes on (in addition to both being incredible facilities that blow Riverbanks out of the water). I wouldn't doubt that at least one of the three NC Aquariums has them as well, but I can't speak to those off hand.
I of course don't know what your specific circumstances are, but in neighboring states you've got Georgia Aquarium and North Carolina Zoo with harbor seals as well, where they're much easier to actually lay eyes on (in addition to both being incredible facilities that blow Riverbanks out of the water). I wouldn't doubt that at least one of the three NC Aquariums has them as well, but I can't speak to those off hand.
NC does not have seals anymore.
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Oh no, I knew that was coming, but I either missed or forgot it actually being carried through. Scratch that part then.
Persephone
Well-Known Member
Haven’t been to Roanoke but the southern two don’t. They’re more showcases of the fish living offshore. Otters are about their only mammals. Certainly interesting experiences but they’re more geared towards locals or tourists who happen to be in the area rather than acting as regional tourist attractions in their own right.
Squeaky
Member
Isn't that temporary?
None of the North Carolina Aquariums have seals. As a matter of fact; with NC Zoo currently not having seals, there are zero pinnipeds in NC as of this writing.
As @biggest_dreamer mentioned, Riverbanks is currently your only bet to see any sort of pinniped in the Carolinas. Otherwise, the next closest facilities with seals are Georgia Aquarium and Virginia Aquarium.
Unfortunately, we don't know at this time. The exhibit has sat empty since last November and no work has been done on it as of my last visit (Feb 1st).
There have been rumors circulating that the exhibit will be repurposed to house Penguins, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. The zoo's website still lists Harbor Seals, and that the seal exhibit is closed for "habitat improvements".
The zoo has not released any information on what they actually plan on doing with the seal exhibit.
As @biggest_dreamer mentioned, Riverbanks is currently your only bet to see any sort of pinniped in the Carolinas. Otherwise, the next closest facilities with seals are Georgia Aquarium and Virginia Aquarium.
Unfortunately, we don't know at this time. The exhibit has sat empty since last November and no work has been done on it as of my last visit (Feb 1st).
There have been rumors circulating that the exhibit will be repurposed to house Penguins, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. The zoo's website still lists Harbor Seals, and that the seal exhibit is closed for "habitat improvements".
The zoo has not released any information on what they actually plan on doing with the seal exhibit.
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
To re-address this thread's original question, now Riverbanks no longer has seals anymore either. They still do have sea lions, however.
I hope that they don't go with penguins. NCZ is one of the great bastions of zoogeographic designs left, putting penguins in that space would greatly erode that for "North America".