 Common seal at the Seal Sanctuary | |
| Abbreviation | Natureland |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1965 |
| Legal status | Non-profit organisation |
| Purpose | Seals in East Lindsey |
| Location |
|
Region served | East Lindsey coast |
Membership | Seals |
| Website | NSS |
Natureland Seal Sanctuary, also referred to as Skegness Natureland or Skegness Seal Sanctuary is an animal attraction in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
Natureland is a seal sanctuary, with a seal hospital, a small zoo, tropical glasshouses (known as the 'Floral Palace') and an aquarium. [1] Animals include seals, African penguins, crocodiles, goats, tarantulas, snakes, terrapins, scorpions, as well as tropical butterflies and birds. [2] [3] Glasshouses contain many exotic plants, including cacti from the US, Mediterranean shrubs and banana plants. [4]
In the seal hospital, orphaned seal pups are reared before eventually being released back into the wild. [5] 30-60 seals are rescued by Natureland each winter. [6] [7] In April 2018 Natureland rescued their 800th seal. [8]
There are daily talks where the resident seals show off natural behaviours that have been enhanced by a training programme.
Facilities at the centre include a cafe/restaurant, gift shop, customer toilets and a small area for children to try their hand at activities including brass rubbing.
It is situated on North Parade, next to the beach, and open every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. There is a fee for entry. [9]
Before Natureland was opened there were butterfly houses, known even then as the 'Floral Palace', an aquarium and a gift shop at the site, which was run by an investment company based in Manchester. [3]
Natureland was founded in 1965 by John Yeadon, when it was opened by Princess Margaret and the attraction is still run by Yeadon's family. [8] [3]
In 1966/67 Natureland featured in the BBC children's television programme Blue Peter and was visited by John Noakes. [3]
In 1981 Natureland rescued a walrus, which they named 'Wally', which had strayed from the animals' usual Arctic range. [10] It is rare for walruses to visit the United Kingdom and then they are usually only seen around the Scottish islands.
In 2012 Natureland rescued a rare hooded seal, which had travelled to Lincolnshire all the way from Greenland. [11]
In 2015 a television series about the attraction ran on Estuary TV. [12] and in 2017 BBC One ran a feature about Natureland on a programme called Countryfile Winter Diaries. [13]
Lincolnshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to the north, the North Sea to the east, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland to the south, and Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire to the west. The county town is the city of Lincoln.
Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend" biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider understanding of the natural world".
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021, it is the largest settlement in East Lindsey. It also incorporates Winthorpe and Seacroft, and forms a larger built-up area with the resorts of Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards to the north. The town is on the A52 and A158 roads, connecting it with Boston and the East Midlands, and Lincoln respectively. Skegness railway station is on the Nottingham to Skegness line.
The National Sea Life Centre is an aquarium with over 60 displays of freshwater and marine life in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, England. Its ocean tank has a capacity of 1,000,000 litres (220,000 imp gal) of water and houses giant green sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks and tropical reef fish, with the only fully transparent 360-degree underwater tunnel in the United Kingdom. The building was designed by Sir Norman Foster.
The Mediterranean monk seal is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species. This is the only species in the genus Monachus.
Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611. On 1 April 1974 the parish was changed to form "Mablethorpe and Sutton". The population including nearby Sutton-on-Sea was 12,531 at the 2011 census and estimated at 12,633 in 2019.
Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known as Ocean Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is the second largest theme park in Hong Kong, after Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as the largest theme park in Hong Kong by area. It is also the second oldest theme park in Hong Kong, after the now-defunct Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park which closed on 31 March 1997, four months before the 1997 handover.
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The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, weedy seadragons, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at Central Wharf include the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch. More than 1.3 million guests visited the aquarium each year prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is a public aquarium that features a large variety of Australian aquatic life, displaying more than 700 species comprising more than 13,000 individual fish and other sea and water creatures from most of Australia's water habitats. Opened in 1988, it is regarded as one of Sydney's premier tourist attractions with over 55% of its visitors each year coming from overseas.
Aquarium du Québec is a public aquarium located in the former city of Sainte-Foy in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The 16-hectare (40-acre) facility is home to more than 10,000 animals representing more than 300 species. It is operated by Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (Sépaq), and is a member of the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA).
Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. As of April 2017 there are 53 Sea Life attractions around the world. The chain is owned by the British company, Merlin Entertainments.
Friskney is a village and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is a marine life theme park and animal researching, rescue & rehabilitation center that opened on May 23, 2023 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is the first SeaWorld park outside of the United States and the first park without orcas. The Abu Dhabi-based company Miral Asset Management is the owner and operator of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi under a license from United Parks & Resorts.
The Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre, often abbreviated to Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary or Mablethorpe Wildlife Centre is a seal sanctuary and animal attraction in the coastal town of Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, England. It is a tourist attraction and works to rehabilitate sick and injured seals. It is located close to the seal breeding colony at Donna Nook and many of the animals it rescues are young seals born there.
Tropical World is a butterfly house and animal attraction located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a licensed zoo with membership of BIAZA and also features the largest collection of tropical plants outside Kew Gardens.
Seal Rescue Ireland is a conservation non-profit, headquartered in County Wexford, Ireland. According to the BBC, its main work includes "rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned and sick seals from across the country."