The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, OR, US is to open a new Swampland exhibit, with a range of creatures inhabiting replicated versions of the South American swamp of the Pantanal, a Florida mangrove swamp and a southeastern US cypress swamp.

A 16ft (4.9m) anaconda and a 6ft (1.8m) alligator will be among the inhabitants, with others including piranhas, red tail boas, a large alligator snapping turtle, and tropical fish that use mangrove roots as nurseries.

Using a narrative style of interpretation with a storybook format, Swampland will outline how vital swamps are to the global environment, the exhibit explaining the differences between three types of swamps and the role of animals in these ecosystems. Interpretive text tells the story of how swamps differ from other types of wetlands and how the plants and animals have adapted to fit into the ecosystem.

The walls of the exhibit will be covered with murals which portray the native habitats of each animal, complete with replicated cypress and mangrove trees.

Interactive components include a crawl-through tank where visitors can 'swim with the piranhas', a crawl-through simulated alligator burrow, a flip lid activity where visitors can guess what animals made the illustrated tracks and a naturalist tent where children can record their own observations.

People will also be able walk through oversized mangrove roots and see a close-up look at how they act as the swamp's 'nursery' by protecting small animals from predators.

Pic: A red tail boa constrictor