The Zoos and Aquariums Association (AZA) has announced its honours and award winners for conservation, innovation and design feats at its yearly conference in Kansas City, US.

The Saint Louis Zoo’s Sea Lion Sound exhibition, designed by PGAV Destinations, won the award of Significant Achievement in Exhibit Design.

This is the second time the zoo has been handed the award, having won it back in the 1970s for its Big Cat Country exhibition.

Sea Lion Sound is a Pacific Northwest-inspired exhibit that showcases the first 35-foot-long fin-footed marine mammal tunnel in North America, which allows guests to walk beneath and through the animals’ habitat as they swim and play around them.

Other winners included the Knoxville Zoological Gardens for its Madagascar Spider Tortoise effort, which was awarded the Edward H. Bean Award, with the gardens significantly contributing to the conservation of the tortoise species.

The Chicago Zoological Society was awarded top honours in the Angela Peterson Excellence in Diversity Award for its Cultivating Conservation Communities.

In the education section, both the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium were recognised for their contribution to the sector, while in terms of international conservation the Lincoln Park Zoo was awared the top honour for its Serengeti Health Initiative, which seeks to protect the region’s wildlife and ecosystem.