Living Coasts

About

Living Coasts was a coastal zoo at the site of Torquay Marine Spa in Devon, England. It was owned by South West Environmental Parks as part of the Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, which also operates Newquay Zoo and Paignton Zoo. It was a registered charity, based around seabirds and other coastal wildlife.

The site had a covered giant aviary which included several animal enclosures and habitats including an artificial tidal estuary, a penguin beach, a tropical mangrove swamp, and underwater viewing areas. Living Coasts was also home to the oldest African Penguin in the UK, named Pat, before he was euthanized in 2015 at the age of 37. Living Coasts was Britain's first and only coastal zoo.

It was a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). On 16 June 2020, Living Coasts announced it would not be reopening following its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the species they had during the almost twenty years before closure were common cuttlefish, common octopus, lesser octopus, tropical white spotted...