Marine Life Park

Coordinates: 1°15′31″N 103°49′07″E / 1.2587°N 103.8186°E / 1.2587; 103.8186

Marine Life Park

S.E.A. Aquarium
Date opened	22 November 2012 (2012-11-22)
Location	Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Land area	8 ha (20 acres)
Number of animals	More than 100,000[1]
Number of species	More than 800[1]
Total volume of tanks	45,000,000 l (9,900,000 imp gal; 12,000,000 US gal)[1]
Website	Marine Life Park

Marine Life Park (Chinese: 海洋生物园) is a part of Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa, Singapore and houses the largest oceanarium in the world.^[2][3] The 8-hectare (20-acre) park houses two attractions, the S.E.A Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark.

S.E.A Aquarium

Walking in the SEA Aquarium

White spotted jellyfish exhibited at the aquarium

S.E.A Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium, contains a total of 45,000,000 litres (9,900,000 imp gal; 12,000,000 US gal) of water for more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species.^[1] The aquarium comprises 10 zones with 49 habitats. The centerpiece of the Aquarium is the Open Ocean tank with more than 18,000,000 l (4,000,000 imp gal; 4,800,000 US gal) and 50,000 animals.^[4] It has the world's largest viewing panel, 36-metre (118 ft) wide and 8.3-metre (27 ft) tall, which is intended to give visitors the feeling of being on the ocean floor.^[2]

Collection

The S.E.A Aquarium houses the world's largest collection of manta rays, including the only giant oceanic manta ray in captivity. It also showcases 24 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, scalloped hammerhead sharks, the Japanese spider crab, and relatively uncommonly-exhibited species such as the guitarfish and the chambered nautilus.^[5]

Adventure Cove Waterpark

The Adventure Cove Waterpark features six water slides, including the region’s first hydro-magnetic coaster, Riptide Rocket; the Bluwater Bay wave pool and tubing along the Adventure River. The 620-metre (2,030 ft) river, one of the world’s longest lazy-rivers, have 14 themed scenes of tropical jungles, grottoes, a surround aquarium and more.^[2]

Controversies

The resort originally planned to include whale sharks, but conceded that it might not be feasible to house them and has dropped the plan.^[6] There is ongoing controversy over captures of wild dolphins from Solomon Islands and the facilities in which they are kept in Subic Bay, Philippines. On 14 October 2012, Quezon City court issued a 72-hour temporary environment protection order to block the re-export of the dolphins to Marine Life Park, following a civil rights suit filed by animal rights groups. RWS spokesperson reiterated that the resort's acquisition of the 25 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins adhere to regulations governed by the United Nations Environment Programme under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.^[7]

Another appeal was made and the exports to Singapore were temporarily held. When the hold had expired, RWS exported the dolphins while the court appeal was ongoing. On the flight to Singapore, one of the dolphins, Wen Wen died.^[8] This brings to three the number of dolphins that have died prior to the opening of the Dolphin Island section within the park.^[9]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marine Life Park.

• Official website