In pictures: Sea Lions at Dubai’s Atlantis, The Palm

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  Visitors to Atlantis, The Palm hotel, on Palm Jumeirah, can get up close and personal to pat and stroke four South African Fur Seals as part of a newly launched tour in a specially chilled bathing pool.

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  Confusingly, the Fur Seals are in fact sea lions: the difference is that their ears are visible and their rear flippers enable them to walk more easily on land.

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  The animals were brought to the hotel from a facility in France in December last year, with staff gradually training them to interact with the public.

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  So far it has been a hit, with more than 500 people having photos taken with the animals since February this year.

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  “Before it was a dry experience, now we want to allow the guests to get into the water with them,” said Heidi Perez Cao, vice president of Sea Lion Point at the hotel.

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  The hotel also has six dolphins that are looked after in minute detail. Water samples are taken every day from the pool, and analysed in a laboratory attached to the lab.

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  Although certain types of sea lion can be aggressive in the wild, the Fur Seals owned by the hotel are not at all hostile to humans, although they sometimes act rough with other sea lions, said Andreas Avila, an assistant manager for marine mammal operations.

Visitors to The Atlantis hotel, on Palm Jumeirah, can get up close and personal to pat and stroke four South African Fur Seals as part of a newly launched tour in a specially chilled bathing pool. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National