Steller Cove Exhibit
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A part of the Great Northwest Exhibit
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Named
for German naturalist George Wilhelm Steller, whose name was
also given to the large sea lions that inhabit this marine exhibit.
Steller Cove features plants and animals native to Oregon's coastal
environment. Steller Cove replicates Oregon's unique coastal
landforms, including coastal waves, a dramatic blowhole, tide
pools and rocky shorelines. Experience creatures like the sea
otter and sea lion, whose numbers have been steadily declining
due to commercial fishing, oil spills, global warming and predation
by sharks and killer whales. |
Opening
Date: July 15, 2000 | Cost: $11
million | Size: 387,000 gallons total
Animals
At
10 to 12 feet long, Steller sea lions are
one of the largest members of the pinniped family, with males weighing
up to 3,000 pounds. See
how at home these large, yet graceful mammals are in the
waters of Steller Cove. The exhibit is home to two males,
named Augustus
(Gus)
and Julius. Gus and Julius were born at two different Sea World Parks in 1987, and came
to the zoo from Connecticut's Mystic Aquarium. They are each fed between 25 and 35 pounds
of fish a day, depending on the time of year.
Everyone
loves sea otters, and Steller Cove is the best place to watch them
play. These are southern sea otters, whose
habitat once
spanned
the entire California and Oregon coastlines, but is now
limited to central California. Thelma and Eddie were both
found
abandoned as
pups in 1998. They were raised in the Monterey Bay Aquarium
with the intention
of release into the wild, but they were not able to develop
the necessary survival skills. Thelma and Eddie were
brought to
the Oregon Zoo
on June 2, 2000.
View
a kelp forest with sea stars, urchins, crabs, anemones, sea cucumbers,
rockfish, surf perch and cabezon. Sea
otters have been
known to make
appearances in the background.
Explore a tide pool that includes sea urchins, anemones,
crabs, sea stars, sculpins, gobies, painted greenlings
and gunnels.
Features
Between
the sea otters and the Steller sea lion underwater-viewing window,
an interactive Research Station provides
information on what researchers are doing to protect endangered
Steller sea lions.
A Seafood Watch station helps visitors make informed
decisions about what they eat.
Near
the tide pool, a blowhole set in the rockwork may surprise unsuspecting
visitors with a salty spray as the tide comes rushing in.
In
Pacific Shores Plaza, families can get together and relax while children
play in the large sandbox across from the rocky blowhole.
Art projects
The exhibit features four kinetic sculptures by Miles Pepper, which are
put into motion by the wind and rarely stand still. The sculptures depict a seal, a sea star, diamond rays
and a pair of pelicans.
A
soundtrack by composers Peter Whitmore and Mike Van Liew plays in
the exhibit, adding to the sensory experience of the coast. Crashing waves and the calls of shore
birds can be heard in the 20 minute soundtrack.
Lynne
Hull's "Driftwood Narrative" serves as an entry point into Steller Cove. The sculpture chronicles portions of driftwood's ecology cycle, and the various animals for which driftwood provides shelter and nutrients. The sculpture includes a pictograph describing this cycle.
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