Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary
Southern Promenade, Hunstanton,
Norfolk PE36 5BH
Tel: 01485 533576
About Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton
Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton is located on the Southern Promenade at Hunstanton, Norfolk, on England’s eastern seaboard, where it participates in seal rescues, besides national efforts in this regard to which it contributes. Its Seal Hospital has cared for no fewer than 100 baby seals over the years, and ticket holders on a family day out to Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton can see the expert staff tending animals rescued from all sorts of circumstances, be it abandonment, illness, accidental injury, or involvement in pollution. The family attraction affords visitors the opportunity to watch seal pups from the first stages of treatment through to their eventual recovery and, if feasible, release back to the place that they originated.
The Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton team operates around the clock to assist rescued seals and maintains a regular routine from before sunrise, checking on the pups, treating and prescribing medicines, taking blood, dealing with infections, and feeding. If a pup is younger than three weeks (a white pup), it’s fed liquidised fish, glucose and electrolyte solution – which is akin to its mother’s milk. Feeding is undertaken via bottle or tube. From three weeks old, pups are weaned on fish and, when they’re up to 20 kilos, they’re placed in an outdoor nursery pool, prior to a return to the coast sporting an ID tag.
A ticket to this captivating family attraction also means a close encounter with a group of Humboldt Penguins, which now number fewer than 10,000 individuals in the wild. The flightless maritime birds originate on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and the aerodynamically adept swimmers hit 10 mph in the water. Their playful antics are a highlight of a family day out to Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton and are sure to bring a smile to your face.
Equally endearing are the domestic Eurasian Otters, which are face perils from loss of habitat, pollution, recreation disturbances, tourism and hunting. Their actions are worth the price of a ticket alone for many visitors, and their renown as natural entertainers is challenged only by some of the more exotic species at Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton.
One is the Bamboo Shark in the Ocean Tank, and another is the Claws exhibit, with its lobsters and fiddler, horseshoe and spider crabs, as well as mantis shrimps, which have a spring-loaded front claw that boasts the equivalent power of a .22 bullet being fired. Further, a ticket to the family attraction allows holders to come face to face with Giant Japanese crabs boasting a three-metre claw-span. The world’s largest land crab, they come from Japan in special crates and spend a fortnight acclimatising in the Marine Hospital quarantine zone before adapting to their new home. Ticket holders can additionally view new mothers and fathers in the Maternity/Paternity ward, and young additions in the Nursery Ward, while the care of injured or sick fish goes on as a matter of course. Therefore, a family day out to Sealife Sanctuary Hunstanton is both illuminating and pleasureable, making the facility that the weather cannot ruin a top family attraction.