SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium recently announced the arrival of four, baby blue spotted sting rays! Sting rays our my favorite, so I was really excited to hear the good news. As if that wasn’t enough they are teaming up with Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies to celebrate all the tiny babies and hosting a special baby shower. Now through Father’s Day, the Aquarium will be collecting items for Winnie Palmer Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Guests who donate a gift from the NICU baby registry will receive 25-percent off of regular admission to the Aquarium. Items on the registry include:
- WubbaNubs
- Rattles
- Linking Rings
- Infant books
- Lullaby CDs
- Ball rattles
- Baby blankets
- Light swaddling blankets
“The arrival of any new baby is an exciting time,” said Sheila Bystrak, chief operating officer for Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. “We’re honored to partner with SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium to celebrate the arrival of their newest tiny babies while they also support all of ours. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our community.”
The new, baby rays are two different species of blue spotted stingrays: Taeniura lymna and Neotrygon kuhlii. In comparison to other ray species, blue spotted stingrays are relatively small, only reaching the sizes of around 14 to 18-inches in total disc width at full adulthood. Admired for their vibrant and prominent blue spots, guests will be able to watch these little guys soar through the water inside the Pacific Ocean and the Coral Caves habitats.
“Just like any baby, we nursed and took care of our baby sting rays behind-the-scenes before we introduced them to all the other fish in our habitats,” Andrew Nerness, curator for SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium. “These rays were bred and born at our sister SEA LIFE Aquariums in Arizona and Texas and exemplify our commitment to ethically and sustainably sourcing animals for our aquariums.”
SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium is home to Florida’s only 360-degree tunnel where sharks, turtles and fish swim overhead while guests and their families walk through. For more information, please visit: visitsealife.com/
About SEA LIFE Orlando
SEA LIFE Orlando is an immersive, one-of-kind aquarium experience that allows marine life enthusiasts to experience the magical world beneath our oceans of the world with interactive touch pools, bubble aquariums, floor-to-ceiling displays, a cold water rock pool, and 360-degree and 180-degree ocean tunnels featuring thousands of sea animals. The 25,000-square foot aquarium attraction is home to colorful fish, sharks, sea horses, stingrays, jellies, a rescue green sea turtle and much more.
SEA LIFE is the world’s largest aquarium chain and SEA LIFE Orlando is the 50th location aquarium launched in the world and the 8th in the U.S. SEA LIFE Orlando is located at 8337 International Drive in Orlando, Florida, at ICON Orlando 360, the entertainment and dining complex which is the home of the 400-foot ICON Orlando observation wheel and celebrity wax attraction Madame Tussauds Orlando. For more information, go to www.visitsealife.com/
About Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies
Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, supported by the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, is a 350-bed facility dedicated exclusively to the needs of women and babies. The hospital includes comprehensive fetal diagnostics and labor and delivery services, a regional center for neonatal intensive care, maternal intensive care and women’s services. Annually, more than 14,000 babies are expected to be born at Winnie Palmer Hospital, making it the busiest labor and delivery unit in the state of Florida. To learn more, visit www.winniepalmerhospital.com.
