Lulu and Gulliver, the two green sea turtles housed at Sea Life Brighton, proved they were real party animals after staff at the aquarium hosted a bash to celebrate the creatures’ 78th birthday.
Sea Life Brighton pulled out all of the stops for the day, including decorating the 750,000-litre Ocean Tank where the turtles live with special birthday banners.
The main event took place at 11am, when the aquarium’s ‘Turtley Amazing’ feeding talk was dedicated to the birthday boy and girl.
The turtles were presented with a specially created birthday cake while spectators sung ‘Happy Birthday’. The cake, made on site by aquarist Jenny Smith using broccoli, celery and leek, was held together with a turtle-friendly herbivore gel.
Max Leviston, General Manager of Sea Life Brighton commented: “We certainly made sure that Lulu and Gulliver had a birthday to remember! They particularly loved their cake and it was a great enrichment for them as they were able to rip off the different vegetables as it started to melt in the water.
“Our turtles have created so many happy memories with our visitors over the years, so it’s only right that they are treated like the stars they are on their birthday. It demonstrates how little marine biologists actually know about the marine world, but specialists are still are not sure how long they are expected to live. We believe green sea turtles can live for 80 to 100 years, so we look forward to many more celebrations with Lulu and Gulliver as they enjoy their retirement!”
Lulu and Gulliver are just two of the 3,500 creatures homed at Sea Life Brighton, the world’s oldest operating aquarium.
Sea Life Brighton is open from 10am every day apart from Christmas Day. Visitors can save more than 40% by booking in advance online. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.visitsealife.com/brighton.