Marine Life Park

1°15′31″N 103°49′07″E / 1.2587°N 103.8186°E / 1.2587; 103.8186

Marine Life Park
Date opened	22 November 2012; 10 years ago (2012-11-22)
Location	8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa, Singapore 098269
Land area	8 ha (20 acres)
No. of animals	More than 100,000^[1]
No. of species	More than 800^[1]
Volume of largest tank	18,000,000 L (4,000,000 imp gal; 4,800,000 US gal)
Total volume of tanks	45,000,000 L (9,900,000 imp gal; 12,000,000 US gal)^[1]
Website	S.E.A. Aquarium

The Marine Life Park is a part of Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa, situated in southern Singapore. The 8-hectare (20-acre) park houses two attractions, the S.E.A. Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark, and featured the largest oceanarium in the world from 2012 to 2014,^[2][3] until it was surpassed by Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.^[4]

S.E.A. Aquarium

The S.E.A. Aquarium (South East Asia Aquarium) was the world's largest aquarium by total water volume until overtaken by Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin, China.^[4] It contains a total of 45,000,000 litres (9,900,000 imp gal; 12,000,000 US gal) of water for more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species.^[1] The aquarium comprises 10 zones with 49 habitats. The centerpiece of the aquarium is the Open Ocean tank with more than 18,000,000 L (4,000,000 imp gal; 4,800,000 US gal) and 50,000 animals.^[5] Until 2014 when eclipsed by China's Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, it had the world's largest viewing panel, 36-metre (118 ft) wide and 8.3-metre (27 ft) tall, which is intended to give visitors the feeling of being on the ocean floor.^[2] They also have a conservation group called Guardians of the S.E.A.A.,^[6] which supports research, education and public engagement efforts to protect the marine environment. S.E.A. Aquarium will be rebranded to Singapore Oceanarium in 2024 when construction of an extension is expected to be completed in that same year.^[7][8]

Attractions

The main attractions include:^[9][10]

Name	Description
Shipwrecked!	Comprises marine fishes such as black-blotched fantail ray, bowmouth guitarfish, snubnose pompano and zebra shark housed in a shipwreck that sinks beneath a simulated Strait of Karimata on the lower-eastern side of Sumatra. Outside of the tunnel tank is a floor tank which includes the brownbanded bamboo shark and fluted giant clam. Even though the aquarium only keeps female zebra sharks, two pups named Vanda and Hope were born in 2016 and 2021 respectively through parthenogenesis, a rare phenomenon only recently observed in zebra sharks.^[11]
School of Fish	The centerpiece of this area is the Coral Garden, a cylindrical tank with an artificial coral reef and a wide variety of coral reef fish like clownfish, Napoleon wrasse and many more. There are also a couple of seahorse tanks. Freshwater fish like the alligator gar and American paddlefish are also housed nearby.
Ocean Diversity	Allows face-to-face interaction with the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. It is also home to the giant Pacific octopus, Tasmanian giant crab, zebra turkeyfish and many different species of jellyfish.
Open Ocean	The open ocean is a big home for hundreds of fish such as the giant grouper, Javanese cownose ray, leopard whipray, pickhandle barracuda and reef manta rays.
Quirky Adaptations	This gallery shows visitors the various adaptations many different species of fish have to survive. Fish housed here include blotcheye soldierfish, bumphead parrotfish, elephant fish, old wife, payara, queen angelfish, weedy seadragon and wolf eel.
Underwater City	Most of the live corals are held in these tanks with 100 species of hard corals and 20 species of soft corals along with and many fish like the regal blue tang and giant moray.
Apex Predators of the Seas	Visitors walk through a tunnel that allows them to view various shark species such as the blacktip reef shark, sand tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, tawny nurse shark and whitetip reef shark.
Aquatic Ecosystems	The final gallery in the aquarium, featuring the Discovery Touch Pool, which allows visitors to touch epaulette sharks, chocolate chip sea stars, green brittle stars and black sea cucumbers. Several species of poison dart frogs are also housed here.

 

 

White-spotted jellyfish

Dining

Dining is possible at the Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora and S.E.A. Side Snacks.^[12]

Shopping

The gift shop located at the exit of the aquarium sells a variety of souvenirs.^[12]

Adventure Cove Waterpark

The Adventure Cove Waterpark (simplified Chinese: 水上探险乐园; traditional Chinese: 水上探險樂園; pinyin: shuǐshàng tànxiǎn lèyuán) is situated in southern Singapore. The park features seven water slides, including the region's first hydro-magnetic coaster, Riptide Rocket. It also features pools like Bluwater Bay, a wave pool and the Adventure River. The 620-metre (2,030 ft) river, one of the world's longest lazy-rivers, have 13 themed scenes of tropical jungles, grottoes, a surround aquarium and more.^[2]

Rides and attractions

Rides and attractions include:^[13]

Type	Name	Description
Thrilling Water Slides	Dueling Racer	Consists of two vertical water slides which allow two riders to race down the slide at a time by lying on a mat.
	Pipeline Plunge	A slide that is shaped like a pipe which allows two riders to slide down together in a float.
	Riptide Rocket	Southeast Asia's first hydro-magnetic roller coaster, which provides strong climbs and steep drops and shocking twists to two riders on a float.
	Spiral Washout	Funnel-like slide which caters to two riders on a float.
	Splashworks	Like a multiple obstacle course, Splashworks consists of balance beams, tight ropes, cargo nets, and platform cliff jumps.
	Tidal Twister	Slide with unpredictable twists and turns, catering to two riders on a float.
	Whirlpool Washout	On a float, riders slide down the ride in twists, turns and dips. At the end of the slide, people will be facing backwards.
Immersive Experience	Ray Bay	An up-close encounter with the rays. Additional charges apply.
	Rainbow Reef	Snorkel amongst reefs and 20,000 tropical fishes of four different species.
Fun For Kids	Adventure River	Float in a tube through 14 habitats around the waterpark. The habitats include a Grotto, dolphin lagoon and ray bay.
	Big Bucket Treehouse	A water playground with mini water slides and water-filled buckets tipping.
	Bluwater Bay	Ride the waves in a giant pool.
	Seahorse Hideaway	Shallow wading pool with fountains.

Dining

The Bay Restaurant serves local favourites, Asian and Western delights. Dining is al-fresco style and situated on a terrace overlooking the Waterpark.

Shopping

Reef 'n Wave Wear is a one-stop destination for swim apparel, gifts and souvenirs.

Dolphin Island

Between 2008 and 2009, Marine Life Park purchased 27 dolphins from the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific to be part of its attraction.^[14] Two dolphins died in Langkawi, Malaysia where they were temporarily housed^[15] before being sent to the Philippines for training and housing while the marine park in Sentosa is being constructed.^[14] While in the Philippines, local animal rights groups and Earth Island Institute filed a civil rights suit, and the Quezon City court issued a 72-hour temporary environment protection order to block the re-export of the dolphins to Marine Life Park on 14 October 2012.^[16] RWS reiterated that the resort's acquisition of the 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins adhered to regulations governed by the United Nations Environment Programme under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.^[17] Following another appeal, the block on the re-exportation of the dolphins was temporarily extended. Upon expiry of the blocking order, the dolphins were subsequently exported while the court appeal was ongoing. One of the dolphins, Wen Wen, died on the flight to Singapore,^[18] making it the third dolphin to die prior to the opening of the Dolphin Island within the park.^[19]

Transport

The park is accessible by MRT (via the Sentosa Express), bus, car and by foot.^[20]

Gallery

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•  
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  Weedy seadragon

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  Open Ocean

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  Shark Seas

See also

• Wild Wild Wet
• Underwater World

References

1. "World's largest oceanarium opens". CNNGo Staff. CNN. 22 November 2012.
2. . Resorts World Sentosa. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
3. . E Travel Blackboard. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
4. "CHINA'S HENGQIN OCEAN KINGDOM CONFIRMED AS WORLD'S LARGEST AQUARIUM AS ATTRACTION SETS FIVE WORLD RECORDS". Guinness World Records. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
5. (PDF). Resorts World Sentosa. 20 November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
6. "Guardians of the S.E.A.A."
7. "Resorts World Sentosa to expand SEA Aquarium, Universal Studios; hotels to be refurbished". CNA. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
8. Chang, Charlotte (10 January 2022). "S.E.A. Aquarium to be rebranded to Singapore Oceanarium by 2025". youthopia.sg. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
9. "Insider Guide to Exploring S.E.A. Aquarium". rwsentosa.com.
10. "Park Map". rwsentosa.com.
11. "2 'miracle babies' at S.E.A. Aquarium: Zebra sharks born asexually without father". mothership.sg.
12. "Sea Aquarium". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
13. "Adventure Cove Waterpark". Resorts World Sentosa. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
14. "RWS: Not all four dolphins died while in captivity at our Marine Life Park | Coconuts". Retrieved 25 September 2023.
15. "More than 100,000 people against dolphins in captivity". Yahoo News. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
16. Mateo, Janvic. "Court order sought vs export of dolphins to Singapore". Philstar.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
17. "Philippine court lifts order preventing export of dolphins to S'pore". Channel NewsAsia. 17 October 2012.
18. "Dolphin bound for Marine Life Park dies en route to Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
19. "A peek at the Marine Life Park dolphins". AsiaOne. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
20. "Getting to Resorts World Sentosa". Resorts World Sentosa. Resorts World Sentosa. Retrieved 1 April 2015.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marine Life Park.

• Official website
• Resorts World Sentosa Official website