Stingray Cove by Living Exhibits

Stingray Cove Locations

About Us

Stingray Cove™ is produced by Living Exhibits, a Scottsdale, Arizona based company that designs, builds and manages interactive Stingray and Shark exhibits for zoos and aquariums throughout North America.  Founded in 2005, Living Exhibits has produced more than 20 aquatic exhibits and have provided memorable experiences to more than 9 million visitors.

Our animal collection includes Cownose Rays, Southern Stingrays, and Bamboo Sharks.  In addition to design, construction and start-up, our staff provides all husbandry and life-support functions while the host zoo or aquarium provides crowd control and poolside guest interpretation and animal/visitor oversight.  Most, but not all of our exhibits are seasonal, operating between April and October.  We provide animal transportation between our holding facilities and your zoo or aquarium.

Stingray Cove provides a strong return on investment for zoos and aquarium with annual visitation of one million guests or more.

For Employment opportunities, please scroll down page for more information.

 

CERTIFICATION

Stingray Cove exhibits are certified by American Humane. Our exhibits are regularly inspected by subject matter experts.

GUEST EXPERIENCE

Stingray Cove provides your guests with an amazing interactive animal experience.

ANIMAL WELFARE

Animal Welfare is the backbone of our animal care program. We maintain a rigorous Body Condition Scoring program and insure our exhibits meet the needs of the animals first.

What We Do

Stingray Cove at the St. Louis Zoo

Our standard exhibits are 50’ long X 25’ wide with an irregular shape allowing animals maximum linear perimeter for interactions and ample resting and “hanging out” space in the center pool area.

Up Close and Personal

Pool walls are designed so that little guests can lay on the perimeter wall and hands in the water while their center of gravity “butt and legs” are on the outside of the pool.

Stingray Cove in full season!

The pool perimeter for our standard exhibit is 145 linear feet.  On the average, we allow 24” per person along the pool wall which provides for a capacity of approximately 75 visitors at poolside.  The average stay time at poolside is 15 minutes which work out to a little under 300 visitors per hour.

Life Support System

Living Exhibits provides a robust life support system with redundant systems and intuitive alarming systems.  Our LSS is comprised of multiple sand and gravel filters, carbon contact systems, Protein Fractionation and a Moveable BioBed.  Additionally, we utilize UV and Ozone contact processes.  Salt mixing is done in our 1000 gallon reservoirs.  For temperature management we utilize 15-ton heat pumps for chilling and separate heater/boilers.

Redundancy, alarms and robust LSS

Our life support system has water flow, temperature, power and other sensors located throughout the system to monitor key water parameters and notify staff immediately when those parameters are outside of norms.

 

Animal Husbandry

Living Exhibits staff works with our veterinary, curatorial and husbandry management team to insure proper care and welfare for our entire animal collection.  We provide barb trimming as necessary to insure a safe experience for guest and animals.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT LIVING EXHIBITS INC.

We are excited to be offering a part-time job Animal Care and Life Support Specialist opening at our St Louis Zoo Stingray Cove location- This will be a seasonal position that will be expected to work some evenings, weekends and holidays. Position will be available mid/late May through October.

Living Exhibits, Inc. has a rich history of designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining interactive animal exhibits for zoos, aquariums and museums across the country. Our exhibits include immersive and interactive aquatic habitats featuring sharks and stingrays, all managed by Living Exhibits staff at a host zoological facility.  The goals of these interactive exhibits are to increase the value of the guests’ experience, further our customers’ zoological mission and do so in a fiscally viable manner while encouraging guest connections with the animals to aid in their conservation. We currently operate exhibits at these AZA accredited facilities: St Louis Zoo, Denver Zoo and Sedgwick County Zoo.  Living Exhibits also maintains a year-round animal holding facility in Wichita, Kansas.

Staff at Living Exhibits work together as a team to meet common goals.  Staff hours will include weekends, holidays, and possible evening events.  Staff will be required to work in and around salt water, perform duties outdoors and during all types of weather and will include husbandry and working with filters, pumps and other critical life support equipment for the safety of our animals.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES FOR ANIMAL CARE/LIFE SUPPORT SPECIALIST:

• Perform daily animal husbandry duties including, but not limited to:
  • Cleaning and maintenance of animal exhibits.
  • Preparation of daily diets and feeding of animals.
  • Observation of animals for injuries, disease, and behavioral changes.
  • Participation in daily behavioral training sessions to maintain existing behaviors, train new behaviors and utilize operant conditioning to enhance animal care.
  • Assisting in necessary care and medical treatment of injured or sick animals.
  • Maintaining accurate and detailed records in accordance with Living Exhibits protocols.
  • Operating and/or maintaining life support equipment.
  • Understanding, testing, and maintaining life support equipment.
• Communicate effectively and respectfully with all members of the Living Exhibits team, all host institution personnel, volunteers, guests and any others that come into contact as a result of Living Exhibits operations.
• Keep a clean and orderly workspace including proper care and maintenance of department facilities and equipment.
• Provide educational and interpretive information to all host institution personnel and volunteers as necessary.
• As an aid to the Exhibit Supervisor, serve as a liaison with host facility personnel to problem solve, promote a productive relationship and ensure good customer satisfaction.
• Engage with guests, including discussing the exhibit, the animals, conservation issues and answering questions on a variety of topics.
• Completion of projects and other duties as assigned, possible travel to other exhibits for animal transport and further educational growth.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in zoology, animal husbandry, a related field or working towards one OR equivalent experience.
• One year’s practical experience in the care and interpretation of animals; zoo and aquarium animal-related experience preferred.

• Strong observational skills to recognize and evaluate conditions of animal health, body condition and behavior.
• Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions, including procedures for care and maintenance of animals, habitats, service and holding areas.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Introductory knowledge of the animals featured in our exhibits, their care, and general conservation issues.
• Must be comfortable speaking to and interacting with guests, the media, and employees and volunteers of the host institutions.
• Basic computer knowledge including E-mail, Word & Excel.
• Able to perform physical tasks including occasional lifting of moderate to heavy loads (up to 60 lbs.), climbing of ladders and ability to work in elevated conditions, have sufficient mobility to ensure safe work environment.
• Able to work in and around salt water and to handle shellfish for diet preparation and animal feedings.
• Able to work in variable weather and sometimes extreme environmental conditions including heat, snow, rain, wind.

Send Resumes & Cover Letters to: admin@livingexhibits.com.  All employees of Living Exhibits are subject to employment eligibility and background security checks as well testing for illegal substance use as allowed by law.