All animals at SeaQuest safely relocated after aquarium’s sudden closure
Less than two months after the sudden closure of SeaQuest Roseville, all 1,400 animals previously held at the controversial aquarium at the Rosedale Center mall have now been relocated across a network of accredited facilities, 5 INVESTIGATES has confirmed.
The emergency rescue mission was led by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums after SeaQuest declared bankruptcy in December and later shuttered its Minnesota location in February.
The animal care team at the Minnesota Zoo was among those who stepped up to take in 128 of the animals, including fish, reptiles, along with a pair of sloths and wallabies.
“What I want to communicate is that all of the animals now have a new life and a new path forward,” said Kurt Heizmann, director of animal care at the Minnesota Zoo.
Annie Rivas, a certified veterinarian and director of animal health at the zoo, has been working around the clock to rehabilitate animals from SeaQuest such as the two wallabies, Chubbs and Cisco.
“Like all the animals, they’ve needed a little bit of TLC just to get them back on the right track, but they’re doing really well,” Rivas said.
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In addition to other facilities such as the Lake Superior Zoo and the Como Zoo, the SEA LIFE aquarium at Mall of America says it accepted about 600 fish and other marine life.
Much like those at the Minnesota Zoo, SEA LIFE Senior Aquarist Drew Turner says the animals are being quarantined before being moved to permanent locations at the aquarium.
“Some were really stable, in good health. Others needed additional medical attention, so that’s when our job really starts,” Turner said. “Unfortunately, we did lose a shark. It was in critical condition before it arrived.”
The closure of SeaQuest Roseville comes after a yearlong investigation by 5 INVESTIGATES and ABC News, which found repeated incidents putting animals and people in danger.
A bankruptcy court approved the sale of three other SeaQuest locations in March.