Seneca Park Zoo announced Monday the death of Sunny, a young female sea lion born at the Zoo. Officials said the six-month-old died unexpectedly last week.
Sunny is the third sea lion to die in the last three months. Boomerang, a 10-year-old male sea lion, died in October from heart disease and Sunny's mother, Marina, passed away after epileptic seizures in September.
“Sunny was bright, alert, and playful in the morning,” said Dr. Jeffrey Wyatt, the zoo’s director of animal health and conservation, “She went out on exhibit and was found in the bottom of the pool minutes after."
Wyatt said Sunny’s death is unrelated to the other sea lion fatalities, and that a necropsy performed on the animal showed no obvious cause of death.
“We only found two things on her: one, very dark lungs and we don’t know what to attribute that to. We also found that in her stomach she had about 0.8 ounces of very small amount of pool material, or cement, six very small wires, and a grommet.”
Beginning in January, both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the United States Department of Agriculture will conduct investigations, as per the Zoo’s request.
Director Larry Sorel said once the results of those assessments have been received, officials will attempt to bring in more sea lions.
"It's likely that more sea lions will be coming here. There's no reason at this point to expect anything different,” Sorel said.
Sea lions have been on display at the Zoo for more than four decades. The average life expectancy of the animal is between 20 and 30 years old.
"It always ranks as one of our more popular exhibits, it's a great part of the zoo," Sorel said.
Lily, a young female sea lion, is the only one remaining. The Zoo also lost a polar bear in 2016. At the age of 26, Zero died last January, and was one of the nine oldest polar bears at an American zoo.
