Living Coasts Part 3/3: Creatures of Shallow Swamps & Deep Seas

Octopus arm

Me, with a model bat
above

Model proboscis
monkey

In the last entry, I wrote about seeing the wading birds, otters, and seals at Living Coasts; this time, it's the turn of those truly aquatic creatures that reside below the waterline!

To get to the aquarium section, there are first more decorated corridors - lined with information at the ends - to explore. At first glance, a hallway leading to an aquarium being adorned with foliage and prop forest creatures, such as fruit bats and proboscis monkeys might seem strange. However, it became clear why the passageway was adorned in such a manner when it opened out into the Mysterious Mangroves area.

Mysterious Mangroves

This area was home to creatures such as rays (blue spotted & blue spotted ribbontail), four-eyed fish, spotted scats, silver moonies, banded archer fish, and Atlantic mudskippers, figure of eight puffer fish, Australian fat-bellied seahorses, and greater pipefish, among others.

The open tanks had fabricated mangrove trees in their relatively shallow waters, which simulated the habitat that their dwellers would be found in naturally. Two of them also had a bridge (for visitors to walk over) connecting them together. which allowed for a larger tank area, giving the animals more freedom in which to swim - it was good!


Another beneficial aspect of the open tanks in this area was the ability to see them from virtually 360 degrees. It was much easier to see them clearly like this. Although that didn't particularly enrich the environment for the animals, it didn't detract from it for them either, which was the important thing!

A blue spotted ray, "smiling" for the camera

It was fascinating just watching the various species mingle and interact with each other and we spent a fair amount of time just gazing at all of them. However, I don't have much to write about them individually, because this space was bustling with constant activity. So, for most of them, I'll let the images write for me in this case.

A four-eyed fish

Spotted scats

A spotted scat

A spotted scat

Blue spotted rays

Blue spotted ribbontail rays and a blue spotted ray

A figure of eight puffer fish

Most of the creatures in these tanks moved in shoals or small groups, but there was one who was noticeably solitary and stood out from the others. This was mainly because it was sitting on a rock the whole time! 

An Atlantic mudskipper

The mudskipper is an amphibious species of fish that can breathe through its skin and the lining of its mouth and throat, as long as it is kept in moist/humid conditions. In addition to this, it has special adaptations to its gills that allows it to retain air bubbles, allowing it to breath on land, and can "walk" using its pectoral and pelvic fins when on the ground. It was a really fascinating little fish!

Australian fat-bellied seahorse

A lobster

Secret seahorse

Next, we headed over to another set of tanks - this time closed-top ones. There were extremely shy seahorses in one tank, unexpectedly curious pipefish (and their offspring in a nursery) in another, and sea anemones (beadlet & snakelock), lobsters, hermit crabs and shrimp in the remaining tanks in this space. 

Pipefish fry

A pipefish

A hermit crab

A pipefish

A pipefish & its relection

Spiny star fish and a common blenny

We then came to an open-top local coasts tank, which was filled with star fish, anemones, and common blennies, and was surrounded by information pertaining to the waters around Torbay. It was really interesting to see them up close and learn more about them.

My friend took a photo of me under
the tank. Thanks, friend! :P

A spiny star fish &
a snake lock anemone

In addition to being able to view the creatures from above, this tank also allowed visitors to crawl underneath it and view its inhabitants from below. So naturally, I had to do that, despite getting a few odd looks from other guests. haha. (The big sign on the tank said I could go underneath, so I did! Too bad for everyone else, I guess; they missed out on seeing interesting things!).

Spiny star fish, from below

After that, we walked through corridors/viewing areas - including the seal and penguin underwater viewing pools that I mentioned the previous post - with information about various sea creatures, until we came to the "children's play area".

"Fish are Friends" wall mural

There were  bright murals/paintings on the walls, plus lots of aquatic-themed toys for children to play and interact with. As well as that, there was, again, lots of information for people to read, both with their children and just for themselves. 

In this room, there was also a tank of Mangrove - upside down - jellyfish.

Mangrove jellyfish (Cassiopea)

Mangrove jellyfish (Cassiopea)

They were very beautiful creatures: pale pink in colour with white and blue on their arms. They float with their bells facing the ground, mouths and arms facing the surface. When catching prey and defending themselves, they use nematocysts (stinging cells), which may cause a skin rash or itching in humans (depending on the person). However, it is not known to cause a serious reaction (in humans), as is the case with some jellyfish species.

 

There were three tanks in the following section; the first contained a lovely common octopus. We watched it for a while and then a keeper / information assistant asked me if we were there to watch the feeding. In truth, I'd forgotten what time it was, but since I didn't want to waste the opportunity to find out more about the octopus, I said yes. We were the only ones there, so we got to hear everything about the species, the way they feed and also ask any other questions that we had. It was great!

The octopus used its arms very dexterously. Its food - a small squid - was put inside two tubes and in order eat it, first the octopus had to remove it from both. The speed with which this task was achieved surprised even the keeper on this occasion!

The common octopus in its paler colour state before feeding

A lionfish

Opposite the octopus there were two more tanks: one with lionfish inside and one with a white spot puffer fish inside. There were three lionfish and none of them seemed to be very active. I didn't know much about this species before my visit, so I was a little bit concerned for their well-being when I saw them. 

However, I've since read more about them and have learnt that they are actually just quite inactive fish, preferring to have rocks to hide and nestle amongst. So this tank was perfect for them, really! (Of course professionals would know more than me, haha).

The white spot puffer fish

In contrast to the lionfish, the white spot puffer fish was extremely active - interactive even! It swam along, watching us pass by and following us. It was very endearing. (I do realise that the inside of the tanks are somewhat mirrored, but it followed our movements exactly). 

The reason that it was kept in a tank by itself is because this type of puffer fish are solitary and can be aggressive and territorial to others of its species (and, I would assume, other species too). So perhaps it wasn't being endearing but, rather, telling us to clear off! I still think it was adorable though.

The next area was the last area and featured a lot of information, models and displays on all sorts of marine creatures, such as cephalopods, sharks and other fish. It was really interesting!

Overall, Living Coasts was a really wonderful and fascinating place to visit and I'd recommend that anyone who gets the chance to go does so! Visiting on a weekday - particularly Monday to Thursday - is the best if possible, as those are the least busy days and will allow you to see everything at your leisure and also give you time to go back to anything you want to see again.

Goodbye from me and the magical manatee model~!

Living Coasts Part 2/3: Elegant Wading Birds, Adorable Otters, & Playful Seals

The three otter brothers

Last time, I wrote about the penguins and other sea birds I encountered during a trip to Living Coasts last Monday (9th). This post is all about the otters, wading birds, and seals!

Part of  Waders' Estuary

After leaving the marine birds behind, we went into a separated area for the wading birds, called Waders' Estuary (pictured above). It consisted of reeds, grassy areas, trees, and sand banks surrounding water. As with Penguin Beach and Auk Cove, Waders' Estuary overlooked the bay beyond and gave a very peaceful feeling to the enclosure. 

A pied avocet

A black-necked stilt

The species of birds that shared this space were pied avocets, black-necked stilts, ruffs, redshanks, and oyster catchers. Some of the birds were inside their shelters, while others wandered around elegantly around atop their long legs, on the sand, through the grass and in the water. The black-necked stilts in particular seemed to be in pairs, occasionally chasing each other around or mirroring one another's movements. It was quite lovely to watch - as was listening to them!

We we spent some time watching the waders, before heading around to the next environment, Otter Rapids (pictured below).

Part of Otter Rapids

The otters housed at Living Coasts are Asian short-clawed otters, which are apparently the smallest of the thirteen types of otters in the world. 

A chart of "Otters of the World"

The three brothers living in Otter Rapids were born at Newquay Zoo, and brought to Torquay together when they were old enough. It was obvious that they had a very strong bond, as they followed behind one another in a line around their enclosure, making squealing and barking sounds at any humans they saw. It soon became apparent that it was their feeding time soon and they were becoming impatient - hence all the noise! 

Otters looking for hidden food

When feeding time finally arrived, the keepers put the three brothers inside and hid their food in various places around the enclosure. This was done in order to give them more of a challenge and some mental stimulation, just as they would have when finding food in the wild. 

As soon as the door to their shelter was opened, they immediately broke the tight formation that they'd had for the rest of the time and went off in search of the food individually. According to the keepers, otters have an extremely good sense of smell and so it took them very little time for them to find most of the hidden morsels - even those underwater.

However, there were three or four that they had to search for for quite some time, and they seemed to enjoy the process. In fact, the otters seemed to make a game out of almost everything they did; it was very endearing!

Fur Seal Cove

The next area of Living Coasts that we went to was Fur Seal Cove, which is home to four South American fur seals (three females and a male). Above the water, the two biggest would take it in turns to laze on a large rock, while the smallest would pull a large yellow buoy around playfully. 

They were all very vocal when they surfaced, with whichever was atop the rock seemingly taking the lead. The noise they made was a rather delightful mix that was halfway between honking and a chainsaw! 

This pool was only part of the seals' enclosure; there were also other places where they were able to emerge from the water. Also, they had  additional, interconnected underwater swimming spaces, most of which were visible through subterranean viewing windows. That's where we next saw them.

Seeing the seals underwater was a completely different experience. They moved with incredible agility and speed, which they lacked on land and on the surface. Although they're only semi-aquatic animals, when seeing them move submerged, it became quite clear where they were most at home.

After watching the seals swim for a while, I noticed some paper fish, covered in glitter, attached to one of the frames of the tanks. In the middle of them there was a sign that explained that the seals enjoyed interacting with visitors by following the fish, so I grabbed one and held it against the window.

It did indeed attract the attention of one of the seals (I think it was Gemini, the youngest), who disappeared and came back several times to investigate, spinning and twirling in all directions as she did so.  She left one last time, before returning to show off with a "toy" that she obviously thought was far more entertaining than my paper fish. And she was right, haha!

We watched her play with the shell for a around ten minutes. During that time she would also look through the glass periodically and briefly follow along with the paper fish, before returning to the more exciting shell.

Two of the other seals - the large male seal and one of the other females - also began playfully swimming around with her during this time as well, which was really fun to watch. But she kept hold of her precious shell the whole time!

Shortly after that, it was the seals feeding time, so they vacated the tank we were viewing and we left that area.


That's it for part 2/3 of my trip to Living Coasts! Next up: Meeting the Creatures of the Deep!