Taronga’s Two New Sea-lions Enjoy a Holiday Splash

Taronga’s Two New Sea-lions Enjoy a Holiday Splash

#Taronga Zoo Sydney

Posted on 17th December 2015 by Media Relations

Taronga’s latest additions to the seal team have been splashing and playing around in the Seal Theatre pools as summer warms up.


 Taronga’s marine keepers have welcomed two young Californian Sea-lions. The two-year-old males recently arrived from Rotterdam and have been named ‘Cisco’ and ‘Diego’ to reflect their Californian heritage. Keepers are hoping they’ll one day become ambassadors for their species and help impart important messages about sustainable seafood.


 At the moment the young Sea-lions are spending their time behind the scenes swimming for fun, learning new activities and building strong relationships with keepers and the other seals.


 Senior Marine Keeper, Danielle Fox, says: “We’re still finding out their personalities so we can play to their strengths and figure out where they excel. Ideally we would love to see them meeting our guests and one day representing their species in the Seal Presentation.”


 “Both of the boys are turning out to be very fast learners and are learning how to help us regularly check their health very quickly.”


 “They’re great with people and have already socialised with most of our seals. One of our keepers was here late and said he found the two young boys huddled up asleep with Mitchi, a fully-grown Californian Sea-lion male.”


 Over the Christmas holidays, the two young Sea-lions will be making cameo appearances in some of the 1pm training presentations at Seal Theatre, to give the boys the chance to get used to people. Guests can also see them playing and diving in the habitat pools behind the seal theatre.


 The two boys can be recognised thanks to their ‘sleek’ look on land. Unlike New Zealand Fur seals, Californian Sea-lions only have a single layer of fur that gives them their sleeker look. 


 Taronga has recently launched the new and improved Seal Presentation, showing visitors that buying MSC certified fish directly helps to secure a future for Sea-lions and other marine life in the wild.


 The Seal Presentation is the perfect choice for a hot day! Guests that choose to sit in the front rows will enjoy a cool down in our new Splash Zone.