The Edmonton Valley Zoo unveiled the new home for its seals and sea lion called Arctic Shores.
The new Arctic habitat is more than three times the space to swim as before. It recreates an Arctic shoreline, including northern landscapes and will be home to the zoo’s seals, Hula and Makani and its sea lion, Nauticus.
“It’s a really good example of the direction zoos are going world wide,” says Dean Treichel of the Valley Zoo, “We are taking into account what’s in the best interests of the animals in our care. We know that our focus has to be on education and learning and protecting the planet. These kinds of exhibits give us the opportunity to get that message out.”
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The habitat cost nearly $17 million and is part of large transformation at the zoo which will include more arctic animals for the enclosure.
“We don’t want this to be the big leagues,” explains Stephen Mandel, “we want this to be a small comfortable family zoo. You can come to and enjoy with your young children of 3 or 4 or 5 years of age and it’s just a manageable area. I think this is going to improve the environment but we still want to make sure that there is that family warmth and comfort taht people feel when they come here.
The zoo is planning to adding 4 Northern Fir Seals to the 2 harbour seals and 1 sea lion it currently has.
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