Between seals and whale skeletons on the road at Ecomare

In De Koog on Texel is the Ecomare, one of the most popular destinations on the Dutch island. Besides a natural history museum, there is also an aquarium and a bird and seal sanctuary.

The Ecomare is located directly on the dune landscape of Texel. From a car park, you reach the site after a few metres and enter a generously designed entrance area. From there you can reach the various exhibition areas, the café, the museum shop and the outdoor area.

We were first drawn to the outdoor area. Unfortunately, we were about 30 minutes late and missed the daily seal feeding (11 am and 3 pm). However, we were lucky that the visitors all flocked to the indoor exhibition area and we were able to explore the outdoor area almost alone.

What can you see in the outdoor area of the Ecomare?

On a tour of the grounds, you pass several water basins of different sizes where you can discover animals. About 20 seals and harbour seals live permanently at Ecomare. These are old or sick (blind or toothless) animals that could no longer survive on their own in the wild.

For example, in one tank there is a group of females, two of which are blind. As a layman, you will only notice this when they briefly lift their heads out of the water while swimming in the tank and you discover their clouded eyes. I think they swim just as quickly and elegantly as the sighted animals.

There are even two ringed seals at Ecomare. These animals do not actually live near Texel but in the North Pole area. The animals come from the Koninklijke Burgers’ Zoo. Their tank there was converted and the animals moved to the Ecomare.

Other pools were just unused when we visited, but are always inhabited by animals in early summer. Every year, many young animals left behind by their mothers are found on the coast of Texel. During the time when the howlers are at home in the Ecomare, you can witness the rearing of the animals. At first they are fed protected from visitors (i.e. behind glass walls) and then, when they become fitter, they are moved to outdoor pools. Later they are released back into the wild.

Injured animals also find a home at Ecomare until they recover. The rearing and care of the animals is not only time-consuming but also costly. You can support the work on site with donations. On the website, for example, you can buy a bucket of fish or take on a sponsorship.

In one corner of the site there is a fenced area. Here you can see some seabirds. Ecomare also cares for seabirds that are found with oil-smeared plumage, for example. If they can be made “viable” again for the wild, they are also “released”. Unfortunately, there are always birds that do not succeed. These are then allowed to stay at Ecomare and later make it easier for the new arrivals to get along.

Those who wish can take a short walk through the adjacent dune park. There is a digital guide that tells current and interesting facts about the dune landscape, plants and animals.

The museum and aquarium at Ecomare

The museum is located in the building and naturally deals with the animal and plant world on Texel, the Wadden Sea and the ecology of the North Sea. Here you will find multimedia areas that explain everything simply and understandably in three languages.

There are numerous aquariums in a poorly lit hall. You can look into most of the tanks from above and see the native fish, starfish, shellfish and mussels. You can even reach into some of the tanks and carefully touch the fish. An unforgettable experience, especially for children.

I found the whale room particularly impressive. You enter a room where the skeletons of huge animals hang. These animals were washed up on the coast of Texel and you can read their story here.

The room has something very special. Here you can hear whale songs and a special lighting concept makes the skeletons look almost futuristic. For me, the most impressive area of the museum.

Visitor Information

Address

Ecomare, Zentrum für Wattenmeer und Nordsee
Ruijslaan 92
1796 AZ De Koog – TexelNetherlands

Website

Audiotour

Via a QR code you can listen to an audio tour with lots of interesting information. The tour is available in Dutch, English and German.

The visit to Ecomare was part of a press trip with VVV Texel.