NORWALK, Conn. — The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk announced Tuesday the opening of a new habitat exhibit for its harbor seals.
Aptly named “Pinniped Cove,” the aquarium’s flipper-footed friends will enjoy a space that is more than eight times larger than the original 19,000-gallon exhibit and is nearly 50% larger than the aquarium’s 110,000-gallon, 18-foot-deep shark exhibit.
Aquarium spokesperson Dave Sigworth said it’s the deepest habitat the seals have had in 30 years. He said guests can see the seals as they have never been able to see them there before.
The new indoor habitat allows visitors three sides and two levels of seal viewing: underwater, through nine-foot-high floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor; and above the surface on the second floor. The L-shaped exhibit also overlooks the Norwalk River. The aquarium said the seals’ new home includes a state-of-the-industry water-quality system and adjacent clinic, making it easier to provide the seals with optimum care.
The exhibit offers a beautiful new space for seals to play and guests to enjoy a playful display of marine life. It also provides guests an opportunity to learn about marine conservation, seal physiology and their role in the marine ecosystem.
Compared to the original exhibit, which was more of a circular swimming pool, “Pinniped Cove” provides a more natural environment for its inhabitants.
“This exhibit has all sorts of natural rock, fabricated rock work and a big mural when they come up. It’s also a cove, so it looks sort of like a New England cove," Sigworth told FOX61 News. "Very rocky, and all that natural rock work both above and below the surface really gives the seals a much more natural environment. There are little caves that they can swim through, there’s some nooks that they can rest under if they want to."
The exhibit opened to members from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and Sigworth said there was a line at the door.
“Some kids especially were literally running down the entranceway to be among the first, which is very heartening that everyone is very excited about it,” Sigworth said. “You’ve got this great vista, all these views of them swimming underwater, watching them, you know, half the time they swim upside down and do these graceful arches. It’s just very fun and relaxing to watch.”
On Tuesday, the aquarium invited guests to experience special activity stations to celebrate both the seals’ new home and the global celebration of World Oceans Day.
The activities included two free afternoon events in the new 4D theater that opened in February. It started with a talk by author and ecologist Carl Safina on the complex society of animals, our own relationship with animals and why the new Pinniped Cove exhibit is important both for harbor seals and guests. This was followed by a screening of “Mission Blue,” a documentary that follows marine biologist Sylvia Earle’s campaign to create a global network of marine sanctuaries.
These projects, the seal exhibit and 4D theater are the aquarium’s response to the coming replacement of a 125-year-old railroad bridge between the former IMAX theater and the historic building used to build The Maritime Aquarium. The aquarium attributes project funding to a $40 million “functional replacement” agreement between the City of Norwalk and the state of Connecticut negotiated because of the bridge project, which required razing the Aquarium’s former IMAX Theater and providing a secure habitat for the seals.
“The fact that the city really rallied on our behalf to keep us whole and to have these new exhibits where otherwise we really could have been damaged when this train bridge work starts is so important,” Sigworth said of the support for the Aquarium’s projects.
Through this new exhibit, the aquarium has been able to keep the intimacy of being close to the seals, offering guests a unique connection to marine wildlife in Pinniped Cove. The seals, and their visitors, are ready to celebrate.
For more information on the Maritime Aquarium click here.
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