Though seals and sea lions are a fairly common sight for surfers, last Friday one of the critters made an appearance far from the nearest lineup. Sally, a female sea lion at the Central Park Zoo, managed to escape her enclosure when extremely heavy rains flooded her pool enough that she could swim out.
Record levels of rainfall thrashed New York City over the weekend. According to the New York Times, the downpour caused flash floods, shut down subway lines, and stranded cars in streets. Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, warning residents to stay home. Amid the chaos, Sally the sea lion had her brief moment of freedom. However, like many other New Yorkers, she quickly returned home to ride out the storm.
“Zoo staff monitored the sea lion as she explored the area before returning to the familiar surroundings of the pool and the company of the other two sea lions,” wrote Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoos and Aquarium. “No staff or visitors were in danger and the sea lion remained inside the zoo, never breaching the zoo’s secondary perimeter.”
An escaped animal is surely a zoo staffer’s worst nightmare, but Sally’s venture outside of her enclosure seems to be a case of controlled chaos. Breheny said that the Central Park Zoo had already closed in anticipation of the storm. “We had closed our four zoos and aquarium this morning so staff could focus on the animals and our facilities during the storm,” he wrote.
After the rain stopped, water levels receded and the animals were once again contained in their enclosures.
