 LOCATION:
Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HA
, England
Phone: 0044-0117-973 7300
Fax: 00440117 973 6814
URL: http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk
 KEY WORDS:
salt water, underwater viewing
 ANIMALS:
| Family: | Species: | Common Name: | Capacity: |
| Anatidae | Somateria mollissima | Eider Duck | 2,1 |
| Laridae | Larosterna inca | Inca Tern | 9 |
| Otariidae | Arctocephalus australis | South American Fur Seal | 9 |
| Phalacrocoracidae | Phalacrocorax | Comorant | 2 |
| Rallidae | Gallinula comeri | Gough Island Moorhen | 2 |
| Spheniscidae | Pygoscelis papua | Gentoo Penguin | 7 |
| Spheniscidae | Spheniscus demersus | African Penguin | 53 |
 AWARDS:
2000 This exhibit helped Bristol receive the United Kingdom Zoo of the Year Award
2000 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare Award
 DESCRIPTION:
Underwater viewing for penguins and fur seals is a rare zoo experience. Two elements were crucial to ensure that this would be a success: maintaining crystal-clear water and providing a number of good viewing locations. The visitor route takes the viewer through the exhibit at ground level and then back through at lower level for underwater views. Thus the exhibit achieves a lot in a small space: numerous chances for viewing the animals from many different perspectives and an increase in the zoo's covered visitor area by a 120 meter-long route (good for varying weather).
The visitor enters the exhibit by passing through some grass-covered berms (made from 11,000 turf bags placed around a clay center). This is a very soft, natural form for the architecture. Visitors find themselves first on a winding wooden boardwalk, with a shipwreck nearby (the mast of which holds up the nylon mesh net that covers the penguin area). Netting was placed over the penguin exhibit to prevent seagulls from flocking to penguin feedings and to allow a number of marine birds to fly freely within the exhibit. The penguins’ pool has a wave machine, large cobbles on its floor, and artificial seaweed. The penguins can enjoy a rocky bank with a waterfall among outcrops and crevices. The penguins can pass beneath the boardwalk, or along an eye-level path next to it, to a planted nesting area in the opposite corner. The cabin of the wrecked ship houses interpretative signs. The rocky cliff of the penguins serves as a separation between them and the seals. The visitor passes through to observe seals sunning on flat rocks within their pool or on the bank, which is covered in large, moulded concrete stones. Hotwire is disguised in thick ship’s rope to serve as a secondary barrier where the path runs adjacent to the seals' feeding bank. The boardwalk runs between the seal space and a small building for keepers and off-exhibit holding areas for both groups of animals. Visitors then descend into a rocky cave that gets gradually deeper. They first view the seals swimming underwater from many windows from the underground tunnel, before entering a small acrylic tunnel (50-75 mm thick) that offers the amazing experience of viewing seals swimming above - the visitor is truly immersed in the undersea environment, with artificial seaweed swaying in the waving water. The sides of the pool have occasional artificial rock treatments and the pool floor is covered with large rounded cobbles (150-400 mm in diametre). The acrylic tunnels, small because of the expense in building them, were deliberately placed after the other numerous view points. This allows visitors a good look before entering the tunnels, so they do not linger in the tunnels too long, causing crowding. Later, the visitor once again views penguins from below (one view looks through a double-paned window with aquarium fish between, making for a true undersea scene). The hull of the "wrecked ship" becomes a wooden seating area in front of a large window.
 SIZE:
The visitor route through Seal & Penguin Coasts covers 135 meters of above-water viewing and 125 meters underwater. The penguin pool is approximately 85 square meters and 2.4 meters deep. The seal pool is approximately 160 square meters and is 2.4 - 3.0 meters deep. Space allocation in square meters:
| use | indoors | outdoors | total exhibit |
| accessible | total | accessible | total |
| animals | | 50 | | 850 | 900 |
| visitors | | 300 | | 400 | 700 |
| others | | 170 | | 280 | 450 |
| total | | 520 | | 1,530 | 2,050 |
 COSTS:
GBP 2,700,000 including 10 % for design.
Construction was difficult as the site is very restricted. A tower crane was used for most of the moving of materials (which the nearby gorillas had to be habituated to). Construction involved digging in the rock substrate, creation of the waterproof concrete pools which were lined with a cementitious elastomeric compound (Thoroseal) to prevent leakage, buildings for keepers, animal holding, and the water treatment system. Specialists were brought in to manufacture the penguin nesting boxes, the wave machines, and the water treatment system for the small fish aquaria in the tunnel.
 OPENING DATE:
Spring 1999
 DESIGN:
Beginning: Summer 1997
- Architecture: Kay Elliot Associates, Devon, England
- Landscape Architecture: Rathbone Partnership, Devon, England
- Water Treatment System: Intensive Aquaculture Technology, Lincs., England
- Structural Engineering: Ove Arup, Bristol, England
- Services: Hoare Lea, Devon, England
- Interpretation & Set Design: David Craddock Design, Devon, England
- Rockwork: Rockthemes International, Devon, England
 CONSTRUCTION:
Beginning: September 1998
- Site Work and Construction: Wates Group Construction, London, England
- Artificial Seaweed: Manwarren Corp., California, USA
- Artificial Seaweed: Trowbridge College, Wiltshire, England
- Water Treatment System: Intensive Aquaculture Technology, Lincs., England
- Viewing Panels & Wave Machines: Aquarium Technology Ltd., Dorset, England
 LOCAL CONDITIONS:
 PLANTS:
There are grassy slopes in the penguin area, with a few shrubs and large grasses. Live seaweed would not stand up to the activity of the animals, so very realistic artificial seaweed was specially made and is anchored to rocks on the pool floor. It becomes covered in algae over time, as do the concrete walls, which adds more realism. The plant list specifies the Latin names of the plants used for this exhibit.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO ANIMALS:
Groups of specially-designed nesting boxes are placed in two parts of the penguin area. The nest boxes are buried and have natural-looking entrances. The penguins have a long and varied high-level route they can choose to take from the water to their nests. The seals have a variety of ledges on which to lie, and islands to swim round. Shallow beaches enable young animals to emerge from the water easily. Both pools have wave machines. Waves add interest and challenge to the animals. The deep, well structured pools encourage swimming. Natural substrates make up the dry-land areas.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO KEEPERS:
Each penguin nesting burrow can be opened from the top so nesting can be closely monitored with ease.. A section of the land area of the penguin zone can be separated off as an introduction area for new birds. Off-exhibit, there is a penguin isolation room, with a pool, salt water supply, and heating/cooling system, to be used for sick birds or new arrivals. A section of the seal pool can be separated off with a grille and mesh gate barrier, for possible separation of individuals. The separated area also has a land part and leads to an indoor holding space, which consists of two rooms. One room has a salt water pool.
 FEATURES DEDICATED TO VISITORS:
The wave machines add activity and sound to the exhibit areas. So do the two waterfalls. The very natural looking rocks are actually of hollow concrete, modelled from the north Devon coastline. Carefully-chosen materials and design have produced a unique experience. The exhibit adds 120 meters of covered viewing area in the zoo, particularly beneficial in bad weather. The underwater tunnel route includes benches and a raised platform offering different perspectives. Windows are placed at all heights, and in many sizes and shapes, to allow people of all ages a good view and to offer private as well as large group viewing. One window is concave and gives the impression of looking through a diver's helmet. There are three sound systems in the underwater route, producing background sounds of waves, music and gulls. The exhibit is accessible to wheelchairs.
 INTERPRETATION:
In addition to large, colourful panels with photos and text explaining animal physiology and behavior, many interactive, "touchable" devices were used to portray facts about the animals' ecology. For example, inside the cabin of the "wrecked“ship, protruding globes show where penguins live in the wild, by lighting up when visitors push buttons.
 MANAGEMENT:
Water clarity was the biggest issue of this project, since visitors would be looking directly through the water at the swimming animals. While designers wanted to allow plenty of space for the animals, they wanted the water volume to be small enough that it could be filtered and renewed at a reasonable rate. The penguin pool is 150 cubic meters in volume, and the seal pool is 500 cubic meters. The water is saline, made up on site from prime dried vacuum food grade salt; it is 3/4 the salinity of normal sea water, at 23 parts per thousand. This is salty enough for the animals to be healthy and to prevent rapid algae growth, and saves on costs associated with salt water production. Each pool has a wave machine that adds movement and life to the exhibits and enrichment for the animals. Each pool has a separate circulation system. Two water treatment modules serve the seals and one the penguins. However, the arrangement is such as to give flexibility to allow one module to be switched to the other pool if necessary. Water leaves the pools via drains in the floor and surface overflow skimmers. It is circulated first through a protein-skimmer (foam fractionator), followed by reflux sand filters, which are regularly flushed out. The water then goes through ultraviolet sterilisers that remove ozone and kill any surviving pathogens. Two thirds of the water then returns direct to the pools, while the rest goes through a large biological filter in which it cascades over an aerated surface where denitrifying organisms grow. Potential waste water from the flushing of the sand filters goes to a settlement tank where sludge is removed and the remaining water is retained. Water quality is kept reasonable, although birds and mammals are not as sensitive as fish to elevated nitrate levels. New water is made in the water make-up reservoir, mixing bags of dry salt with fresh water. Wave machines produce a surge of 300 mm in height every few seconds.
 RESEARCH:
The exhibit is serving as the site of a study by Dr Peter Barham of Bristol University on the hydrodynamic properties of different penguin wing bands. A study has looked at the effects of visitors on penguin activity. In another study students are observing which parts of the enclosure are most used by the seals. A visitor study has been carried out that showed that 47% of visitors spent at least 26 minutes in the exhibit; almost all visitors rated the exhibit highly and said they would return to it again. 48.5% read the signage.
 CONSERVATION:
The water filtration system is very efficient, so little water is lost. The zoo has used this exhibit as a vehicle to raise awareness for the rescue of oiled penguins in South Africa, by having displays and talks to educate the public and contributing funds to SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) for such work.
 LOCAL RESOURCES:
The subcontractors used were all from the local south-west region. Trowbridge College nearby took on the task with Zoo staff of developing and making artificial seaweed that could withstand the activity of the fur seals. |
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| 94K | 205K |
| Overview |
| ©Bristol Zoo, 2003 |
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| 48K | 78K |
| Graphic Panels (6) |
| ©Monika Fiby, 2003 |
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| 37K | 45K |
| Water Treatment (21) |
| ©Bristol Zoo Gardens, 2003 |
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