The world’s marine species number between 27,000 and 30,000, with roughly 12,000 species living off the coast of southern Africa. The exhibits at the Cape Town Two Oceans Aquarium are themed after the “two oceans” that surround the Western Cape. Now the aquarium is one of the top tourist destinations in Cape Town and all of South Africa. In this article, Mrpocu.com will outline all you need to know about Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town.
History
It all began with a vision. Two brothers dreamed of constructing an aquarium in Cape Town that would be the envy of the entire globe. When the Two Oceans Aquarium opened its doors to the public on November 13, 1995, the ideal became a reality. Thousands of visitors gathered to the Aquarium to see the spectacular underwater world on display. Today, the Aquarium continues to provide amazing sights for visitors, but it has also evolved into a facility recognised by its peers in the aquarium industry as a world-class conservation and education facility, as well as a treasured destination for locals from Cape Town and the rest of South Africa.
The Aquarium, which is located at the tip of Africa, chose to focus its exhibits on the idea of “two oceans.” The world’s marine species number between 27,000 and 30,000, with roughly 12,000 species living off the coast of southern Africa. About 4,233 of these species are indigenous, making this one of the world’s most diverse marine biodiversity zones.
The Aquarium is able to capture and host a large range of native species that are not commonly seen in other aquariums across the world because of this diversity in such close proximity. Instead of having to order and transport marine fauna and flora from other parts of the world, the Aquarium has been able to carefully select species, develop appropriate collection and husbandry techniques, and release animals back into the wild at the same location where they were collected because the collection site is known.
What Is The Two Aquarium Known For?
In 2004, the Two Oceans Aquarium made history by releasing one of the aquarium’s long-term residents, a ragged-tooth shark. She was given the name Maxine and was the Aquarium’s first shark ambassador. Over time, she was pursued by a swarm of ragged-tooth sharks. Internal acoustic tags, spaghetti tags, and internal acoustic tags were all used to tag the sharks. Scientists were able to track the sharks and investigate their migration paths thanks to the data provided by the satellite tags on some of them. The Aquarium does not maintain its ragged-tooth sharks indefinitely; sharks are tagged and released into the wild every few years.
Since its founding, the Aquarium has had a successful and well-established education programme, and education and conservation are the foundations upon which the Aquarium is based. The educational programme covers a wide range of marine-related and curriculum-based subjects. The education programme has grown well-known over the years for its great lesson plans, hands-on activities, and support for teachers, students, and adults. Marine Sciences has now been established as a Matric topic in the school curriculum, and learners can now choose this as one of their subjects thanks to the hard work and dedication of Russell Stevens, Head of Education. This is a genuinely extraordinary achievement, and one for which I am extremely proud.
What You Need To Know
The Aquarium established the non-profit Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation in 2018. The Aquarium Foundation focuses only on teaching, conservation, and research. The Aquarium Foundation offers a variety of online and offline education programmes for children and adults, as well as outreach programmes for schools who are unable to bring their students to the Aquarium. These high-quality marine education programmes are aimed at students from preschool through Grade 12, as well as university students and teachers.
Hundreds of sea turtles have been rescued, rehabilitated, and released back into the wild thanks to the Aquarium Foundation’s turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and release programme. Some have required extensive medical treatment, but the “rehabbers” have never given up hope of saving another turtle. There is always a position in the rehab programme for a turtle in need, from tiny hatchling turtles weighing only 26g to giant adult turtles weighing 70kg or more. The Aquarium Foundation’s rehab team is able to discover and bring wounded and ailing turtles to the Aquarium thanks to its extensive network of rescue partners.
The Waterfront Wildlife Management Programme is also overseen by the Aquarium Foundation. This group is in charge of wildlife monitoring along the V&A Waterfront, as well as assisting with human-animal conflict resolution and rescuing animals in distress. Seals with plastic and other trash around their necks are the focus of the crew. The team is able to cut nooses from around the wild seals’ necks using specialised equipment and skills. The pollution in the harbour has an impact on marine birds, and the crew helps to liberate these species from their entanglements whenever feasible. As the docks are emptied of water, sunfish or seals may become stranded in the dry docks. The Aquarium’s team and other staff members are always willing to aid and save these species, even if it involves using a crane to carry the animal up and over the dry dock wall.
Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town In Present Days
After 25 years, the Two Oceans Aquarium has cemented its reputation as a must-see site and a location to see the wonders of the underwater environment off the coast of southern Africa. The Aquarium, on the other hand, is a place where passionate people may live out their goals of working with, caring for, and educating others about marine animals and the environment. Seeing their dedication and passion for the Aquarium’s vision of “abundant and healthy oceans for life” is a true tribute to their dedication to the Aquarium’s aim of “abundant and healthy oceans for life.” The Aquarium has a unique role to play in realising this vision by motivating and educating people to realise the link between their actions and the oceans.
The Two Oceans Aquarium is so much more than a location where you can go to see fish. It is a centre for teaching, conservation, research, as well as enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment.
When is the Two Oceans Aquarium Open
Monday – Friday: 9:30am – 6:00pm (With extended hours over Christmas and New Years)
Saturday – Sunday and public holidays: 9:00am – 6:00pm
How Much are the Two Oceans Aquarium’s Ticket Prices
Adults: R200
South African pensioners, South African students, and children aged 14 – 17 years: R150
Children aged 4 – 13 years: R95
Children aged 0 – 4 years: Free
(Correct at time of posting)
Contact
Tel: +27 21 418 3823 / +27 21 418 3952
Email: aquarium@aquarium.co.za
Web: aquarium.co.za