Prague Zoo welcomes a new sea lion resident: Oslo, a four-year-old bull from Belgium, is currently settling into his new home. With him, the zoo aims to strengthen the breeding of South African sea lions in Europe.
Prague Zoo has a new resident: the four-year-old South African sea lion Oslo arrived from the Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza, where he grew up with his father. After completing quarantine, the young bull is now presenting himself to visitors at Prague Zoo.
Oslo is currently getting used to his new home – including the outdoor pool – and is taking part in regular training. The keepers at Prague Zoo got to know him last year and gained an impression of his training abilities. Despite his young age, Oslo willingly undergoes thorough examinations: from his sensitive belly to his eyes and teeth, to the anaesthetic mask, which he allows to be put on without resistance. He even masters being loaded confidently into a transport box – an important step for safe animal transport.
In Prague, he is currently getting to know his potential mates Abeba, Daisy and Ronja. Although it will probably be several years before Oslo can produce offspring, the zoo is already planning to expand the group with unrelated females – aiming to strengthen genetic diversity and secure breeding in the long term.
Sea lion tradition since 1934
Prague Zoo has a long history of keeping sea lions. The first pair moved in as early as 1934 – a gift from actor and comedian Vlasta Burian. The two animals, Hýta and Batul, initially lived in the former otter pool opposite what is now the entrance to the Indonesian Jungle World. They quickly became crowd favourites.
Since 1991, the zoo has focused on breeding South African sea lions. The bull Gaston gained sad notoriety when he was swept away by floodwaters in 2002 and was caught near Magdeburg after travelling over 300 kilometres through the Vltava and Elbe rivers. However, he did not survive the rigours of the journey and died shortly after his return. Shortly afterwards, his daughter Abeba was born, who still lives in Prague today.
Breeding problems across Europe
The breeding of South African sea lions is declining across Europe. Not a single cub was born last year – an alarming statistic. The animals live in so-called harem groups with several females per male. Currently, there are only 26 females compared to 18 males across Europe under the umbrella of EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) – an unbalanced ratio.
Prague Zoo has made an important contribution to the survival of the species: twelve sea lions have already been successfully raised here and transferred to other European zoos. With Oslo, this success story is now set to continue.
Prague Zoo (Zoologická zahrada hl. m. Prahy)
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