Eye Popping Exhibits At Sydney Aquarium
Sydney aquarium is one of the most popular found throughout world and has more than 6,000 fish and 650 species. Most of the exhibits feature animals and plants from Australia. It is found along Darling Harbor in Sydney. Some of the most famous exhibits include a glass tunnel with sharks and other fish swimming above the visitors. It also has an area that has recreated the Great Barrier Reef.
The Sydney Aquarium has several different display sections that include the southern rivers, northern rivers, mermaid lagoon, southern ocean and northern ocean. The southern rivers area contains the Murray-Darling river system and platypus habitat. The northern rivers contain barramundi and saltwater crocodile. The mermaid lagoon has the Dugong exhibit and the southern ocean contains Sydney harbor, open ocean aquarium and the little penguin’s habitat. The northern ocean contains the Great Barrier Reef oceanarium.
The entire aquarium was built to resemble a large wave as Darling Harbour has a distinct maritime flavour. It took close to 2 years to build. The aquarium brings visitors through exhibits that display the ecosystems and waterways of Australia. The unique aquatic environments make for some complex and fascinating exhibits.
The floating oceanariums are quite impressive and are some of the largest found in the world. It is here that the seal sanctuary as well as the open ocean exhibits are found. These oceanariums were built with tunnels underneath them so it is possible to walk through and watch the fish above you. One of the highlights of the open ocean exhibit is the many sharks. This is the largest collection of captive sharks found in the world.
The seal sanctuary was opened in 1991 and was completely upgraded in 2003. It contains seals from New Zealand, Australia and the subantarctic. It is possible to see the seals from under the water as well as above. There are underwater tunnels as well as an open air deck. The Great Barrier Reef area contains a coral atoll, touch pool, coral cave and the Great Barrier Reef oceanarium. The oceanarium contains many millions of liters of water and thousands of animals.
Besides being a main tourist attraction the aquarium also has important research and conservation project. It supports research for the Australian Museum, Indiana University, La Trobe University, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, New South Wales fisheries Research Institute and the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service. There are many animal holding facilities within the aquarium.
There is more to the aquarium than just exhibits as the aquarium participates in conservation and research projects with many other collaborators. Currently there are projects going on in conjunction with New South Wales fisheries Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Australian Museum, Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, University of Sydney, Indiana University and La Trobe University.
The dudong exhibits is quite a draw as this is only 1 of 5 such exhibits found in the world. The dudong is thought to be the origins of the mermaid legend and these were once found extensively throughout northern Australia. It is also possible to get up close and personal with the sharks by feeding them off of a glass bottom boat.
Fraser Brown is seen as a professional correspondent who is a Sydney Accommodation expert and is specially well known for working on Sydney travel and information assignments
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