Living Coasts is a coastal zoo owned by Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo is part of South West Environmental Parks Ltd which is owned by the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust . It is a combined zoo and botanic garden that welcomes over half a million visitors a year. WWCT also runs Living...

 as part of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust

Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust

Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust is a registered charity, set up to run Paignton Zoo after the death of its founder, Herbert Whitley, who established the zoo on his estate at Primley, Torquay in Devon in the 1920s....

, which includes Newquay Zoo

Newquay Zoo

Newquay Zoo is a zoological garden located in Newquay, England. The zoo was opened in Cornwall on Whit Monday May 26, 1969 by the local council , it was privately owned by Mike Thomas and Roger Martin from 1993 until 2003...

. It is a registered charity, and is based around sea birds and other coastal wildlife. The site is covered by a giant Aviary

Aviary

An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...

 which includes several animal enclosures and habitats including an artificial tidal estuary, a penguin beach, a tropical mangrove swamp, and a collection of underwater viewing areas.

Living Coasts is Britain's only coastal zoo and a nationally-important discovery centre. It is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums

British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity. Founded in 1966 within the zoo and aquarium community to see the principles and practices of animal management adopted in the British Isles...

 (BIAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

-External links:*...

 (EAZA), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums is the "umbrella" organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental...

 (WAZA).

History

Living Coasts opened to the public on 14 July 2003, and is now visited by over 100,000 visitors a year.

Aviary

The aviary, which cost £7 million to build, is 19 metres (62.3 ft) at its highest point and has a total volume of 1.8 Mcuft. Aqauarium tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s inside the avairy have a total capacity of 1214 cubic metre and are home to many mangrove species including 3 types of sting ray and many different types of fish. Also local coasts encourages knowledge of local species such as edible crabs etc.

This free flying enclosure is home to mammals and birds including South American Fur Seal

South American Fur Seal

The South American Fur Seal is a species of fur seal that breeds on the coasts of Chile and Argentina. The total population is around 250,000....

s, African penguin

African Penguin

The African Penguin , also known as the Black-footed Penguin is a species of penguin, confined to southern African waters. It is known as Brilpikkewyn in Afrikaans, Inguza or Unombombiya in Xhosa, Manchot Du Cap in French and Pingüino Del Cabo in Spanish...

s, macaroni penguin

Macaroni Penguin

The Macaroni Penguin is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the Royal Penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species...

s, Sea ducks, pied avocet, redshanks, black necked stilts, ruffs, and Tern

Tern

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

s.

The aviary was the first open-air auk

Auk

An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits...

 exhibit in the world, and has won a design award. It was also the first place in the U.K to breed Pigeon Guillemot

Pigeon Guillemot

The Pigeon Guillemot is a medium-sized alcid endemic to the Pacific. They closely resemble the other members of the genus Cepphus, particularly the Black Guillemot, which is slightly smaller....

s, Common Guillemot

Common Guillemot

The Common Murre or Common Guillemot is a large auk. It is also known as the Thin-billed Murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North-Atlantic and North Pacific...

s and Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

The Tufted Puffin also known as Crested Puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean....

s. Also found in the auk enclosure are red legged kittiwakes and red billed choughs.

Other exhibits

Mangroves: The Roots of the Sea opened in July 2009, and features large aquarium tanks containing over 20 species. It is Britain's first major exhibit themed on a mangrove swamp habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

.

The Local Coasts exhibit is themed on the underside of a classic English pier and is home to native marine species including Seahorses and Starfish.

Discovery Zone, which opened in March 2008, features an interactive floor with a series of specially-created penguin computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 game stations called Penguin Academy.

Programs

Special shows, extended talks and hands-on events are available throughout the site each day. Other programs let visitors be keeper or junior keeper for the day, take part in one of the penguin feeds, or (for certified SCUBA divers) take a 45 minute swim with the penguins.

Facilities

Living Coasts has a Cafe

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

 that overlooks Torbay

Torbay

Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...

and is open during the day to everyone (whether or not visiting Living Coasts). The Tradewinds Gift shop is also open to visitors and non-visitors and is themed on a colonial harbour.