California Sea Lions Frolicking In Florida Keys
KEY LARGO (CBSMiami) -- They are cute and cuddly. Now, they are calling South Florida home.
Two young orphaned California sea lions will now live in the Florida Keys after they were deemed non-releasable by NOAA Fisheries.
The 75-pound sea lions are less than a year old. They arrived at Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Research and Education Center on a FedEx cargo flight Saturday.
Marine mammal experts said California stranding centers usually have 40 orphaned sea lion pups between January and April annually. In the spring of 2013, they were overwhelmed, caring for more than 1,000 sea lion pups, like these found severely malnourished. Seeking permanent homes, NOAA solicited licensed marine mammal centers.
A Dolphins Plus animal specialist and veterinarian traveled to Vallejo, Calif., to escort them to Key Largo.
"They were in a stranding center for several months and they made an attempt to release them, but the animals were not thriving when released and were begging from people," said Art Cooper, director of operations. "We'll give these guys a good home for 25 to 30 years and they should get pretty big, maybe 500 to 600 pounds."
The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.
