Marineland (Antibes)
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| Location | Antibes, France |
|---|---|
| Website | Official site |
| Owner | Grupo Parques Reunidos |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Rides | total |
| Slogan | Le parc de la mer et de l´aventure |
Marineland is an animal exhibition park in Antibes, France. It was founded in 1970 by Roland de la Poype. First, it was a small oceanarium with a few pools and animals but now it is one of the biggest in the world and receives more than 1.200.000 visitors per year.The only French sea park featuring two cetacean species: killer whales and dolphins.
In the 25th of July, 2006, the park was sold to the Spanish amusement park group Parques Reunidos for about 75 million Euros. Parques Reunidos also owns L'Oceanografic in Valencia on the Spanish mainland.
[edit] Animal exhibits
- Killer whale show: In a tank the size of a lagoon, with a panoramic glass wall 64 metres long where the spectacular power of these mammals weighing several metric tons rivals the gentle complicity binding the whales with their trainers. Marineland holds five orcas: Freya, Sharkane, Valentin (Freya´s son), Inouk (Sharkane´s son) and Wiki (Sharkane´s daughter).
- Dolphin show: Marineland’s family of bottlenose dolphins deploy all their charms: speed, accuracy, agility and complete trust in their trainers.
- Les Coulisses de l'apprentissage (sea lion show): A live demonstration of the learning techniques used with all the mammals in the park, in which the seal and sea lion trainers disclose some of the "ropes" for preparing the show, the better to understand the basis of the relationship between humans and animals.
- The shark tunnel: Thanks to a 30-metre-long tunnel through a huge aquarium containing nearly 2 million litres of water, visitors are literally surrounded by sharks and manta rays swimming around them.
- Life under the sea (The tropical aquarium gallery and The touch pool): The tropical aquarium gallery is a temple to the world of coral reefs, with very different vo-lumes represented and the touch pool is a chance to caress skates and rays - fish that literally "fly" in the water - with your finger-tips.
- Pinnipeds: beaches featuring california sea lions, south American sea lions, black seals and grey seals.
- Meeting with dolphins: Each session lasts approximately 1 hour, to discover the biology and ecology of dolphins, before approaching the dolphins for 20 mn under close supervision by trainers on a sunken deck.
