Miami Seaquarium
Encyclopedia
The Miami Seaquarium is a 38 acres (15.4 ha) oceanarium
Oceanarium
An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Florida, or a large-scale aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large ocean dwellers such as sharks.- Marine mammal parks :...

 located on the island of Virginia Key
Virginia Key
Virginia Key is a barrier island in Miami, Florida, United States in Biscayne Bay, south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne. It accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway....

 in Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...

, Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and is located near downtown Miami. It is the longest operating oceanarium in the United States. In addition to the marine mammals, the Miami Seaquarium also houses various fish, sharks, sea turtles, birds, reptiles and manatees. The park offers eight different marine animal shows and presentations daily and attracts over 600,000 visitors per year. The park employs over 225 full and part-time employees. It is the third largest contributor to Miami-Dade County’s revenue through land lease payments and taxes.

History

The park was founded by Fred D. Coppock and Captain W.B. Gray and was the second marine-life attraction in South Florida. Upon its grand opening in 1955, it was the largest marine-life attraction in the world. From 1963 through 1967, 88 television episodes and two movies starring Flipper were filmed at Miami Seaquarium.

Lolita (Tokitae) the Killer Whale

One of the Miami Seaquarium's attractions is Lolita, one of the world's oldest captive orcas. She is currently the park's only orca. Lolita arrived at the Miami Seaquarium in 1970, where she joined the park's first orca, Hugo.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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