# Sea Life Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba,

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

, Queensland,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

is a marine mammal park, oceanarium and wildlife sanctuary. Sea Life Sunshine Coast is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA). The attraction is a Sea Life Centre owned by Merlin Entertainments, and is globally referred to as Sea Life Sunshine Coast by the firm. It was formerly known as UnderWater World.

History

UnderWater World officially opened in 1989. Several scenes in the Jackie Chan 1996 film '' Police Story 4: First Strike'' were shot in the park, including a scene in the main aquarium. In one of the scenes a tourist family is visible in the reflection on one of the tanks. During the period of Christmas on 2006 UnderWater World had a giant squid preserved in a block of ice on display. In July 2013, UnderWater World's owners, Merlin Entertainments, announced that they would be spending $6.5 million on the refurbishment of the facilities. As part of the process, the aquarium was rebranded as a Sea Life Centre and relaunched in December 2013.

Exhibits

Some examples of the largest exhibits at the aquarium include: ;Ocean Tunnel A moving walkway in a

shark tunnel A shark tunnel (or aquarium tunnel, acrylic tunnel and exhibit tunnel) is an underwater tunnel that passes through an aquarium, typically with sharks and related aquatic life. They are usually made of thick acrylic glass. Most aquarium tunnels ar ...

under the oceanarium takes visitors past several viewing windows, with fish swimming all around the walkway. The exhibit includes three separate habitats: coral reef, cave and open ocean. Its residents include grey nurse sharks,

tawny nurse shark The tawny nurse shark (''Nebrius ferrugineus'') is a species of carpet shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae, and the only extant member of the genus ''Nebrius''. It is found widely along coastlines in the Indo-Pacific, preferring reefs, sand ...

s, grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks,

blacktip reef shark The blacktip reef shark (''Carcharhinus melanopterus'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which can be easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins (especially on the first dorsal fin and its caudal fin). ...

s, leopard sharks, ornate wobbegongs, rays, giant groupers,

potato cod The potato grouper (''Epinephelus tukula''), also called the potato cod or potato bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and ...

s, snappers and trevallies. One resident a

brown whipray The brown whipray (''Maculabatis toshi'') is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, common in inshore, muddy habitats along the northern coast of Australia. It has often been confused in literature for the honeycomb stingray (''H. uar ...

has lived at the aquarium since 1989. In November 2011, the shark tank and moving walkway were closed for an upgrade. ;Seal Island There are about seven seals at Sea Life Sunshine Coast, one New Zealand fur seal, two

Australian fur seal The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. ...

s and four

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently monotypic in the genus ''Neophoca'', with the e ...

s which make up part of the ''Seal Island'' exhibit.

Little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

s are a recent addition to the aquarium, with a specially built exhibit constructed for a family of them. Other exhibits include: ''Bay of Rays'', ''Billabong'', ''Coastal Wrecks'', ''Coral Kingdom'', ''Freshwater Streams'', ''Frogs'', ''Jellyfish Kingdom'', ''Seahorse Sanctuary'' and ''Tidal Touchpools''.

Shows and talks

Sea Life Sunshine Coast presents seal shows and wildlife information talks, and has hands-on marine displays. Shows at the park include: *Seal Shows in the Seal Stadium *Stingray Reef talks *Ocean Tunnel Tours *Touch Pool *Jellyfish Tours *Behind the Scenes Tours

Conservation

Sea Life Sunshine Coast is a rehabilitation centre for turtles,

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, and other marine animals.

References

External links

* {{Merlin Entertainments Aquaria in Australia Oceanaria Maroochydore Tourist attractions on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Sea Life Centres Merlin Entertainments Group Buildings and structures on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Zoos in Queensland 1989 establishments in Australia