Sea lions on their way to AquaZoo Friesland

These are busy times for the caretakers at AquaZoo Friesland. This week, four sea lions arrive at the park and will find their place in a new enclosure of no less than 1.5 hectares. Soon the Leeuwarden park will also welcome new seals, marsh wallabies and black-footed penguins.

"From Dolfinarium Harderwijk, we will receive the sea lions Xiho and Titus on Tuesday, March 15. These are two adult males. If all that is not enough, black pacu and freshwater peacock rays will also be added to the aquariums on Tuesday. In addition, Flemish giants and ducklings will also arrive from Dierenpark Emmen. That will be a busy day," said Stephanie Jessen, head of animal care at AquaZoo Friesland. On March 17, two more young sea lions will come to AquaZoo Friesland. These are Teun and Sjaak (born in 2015) from the zoo in Nuremberg, Germany. After that, the mutual introduction will start.

Splash Spectacle

So the brand new sea lion enclosure is almost ready and will open before Easter. Park manager Jeroen Loomeijer explains, "In one of the largest sea lion enclosures in the world (1.5 hectares), visitors can - from the moment the sea lions are fully acclimated - enjoy the Spetter Spektakel from a stand in which our sea lions play the leading role with both educational elements and a feeding presentation."

Black-footed penguins

On March 18, two seals will arrive at AquaZoo Friesland from Antwerp Zoo. It really is a Flemish day then, as two swamp wallabies also come to Leeuwarden from the Belgian zoo Planckendael. A week later, the arrival of 15 black-footed penguins from Le Pal in France is scheduled.

White-wang gibbons to the outside

Gibbon female Sacha and her husband Zhantee moved last week from Eindhoven Zoo in Nuenen to AquaZoo. As of today, they can be seen outside for the first time and, especially in the morning hours, their beautiful - and for gibbons so characteristic - singing can be heard.

Polar Bears

The arrival of polar bears is the biggest project at AquaZoo Friesland this year. Soon the actual construction of the polar bear enclosure will start. If all goes well, the opening will take place in June.