Miller The California Sea Lion Dead At 30
LONG BEACH (CBS) The Aquarium of the Pacific announced today that Miller the California sea lion has died. He was 30 years old.
Born in 1981 in the wild, Miller was rescued from a beach in San Diego by a marine mammal rehabilitation facility and deemed not to be a candidate for release back into the ocean. He was 18 by the time he came to live at the Long Beach facility in September 1998. Prior to that, he had been working as a performing sea lion at another facility that was preparing to close.
He was regarded as one of the aquarium's best trained animals and participated in the aquarium's daily seal and sea lion shows. He was also particularly popular with visitors during his close-up encounters.
"Miller has been healthy over the years, which is why he lived such a long life for a sea lion," Aquarium Veterinarian Dr. Lance Adams said. In the wild, sea lions live between 15 and 17 years.
"Husbandry staff did their best to keep him comfortable as he went through natural aging processes."
Miller was the fifth oldest male sea lion in any zoological institution and spent the last year of his life in retirement in the aquarium's behind-the- scenes area for marine mammals. He died of natural causes.
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