2008 Annual Report - Denver Zoo

flock was transferred to our flamingo winter habitat. We allowed them severalweeks to acclimate to their new home before introducing our adult mixed-speciesflock of American and Chilean flamingos. By year end, the flock of youngsters wasfully integrated into our established flock.new homesNick the sea lion was the newest addition to the Northern Shores pinniped (finfootedmammals) collection in 2008. He had a rough start to life, found strandedat a few days old on a beach adjacent to Seal Rock, a common birthing spot forCalifornia sea lions. He was rescued by staff at the Pacific Marine Mammal Centerin Laguna Beach, California, and he was lovingly hand-reared by staff. Althoughhealthy, he was dependent on human caregivers and deemed non-releasableinto the wild. Denver Zoo worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service andthe Pacific Marine Mammal Center to provide a home for Nick once he was ableto eat on his own. Nick flew to Denver on a private plane on March 31, 2008.Over the next several days his caretakers gradually relinquished responsibility forNick’s care to our staff. In the weeks and months to come Nick was integratedinto our seal and sea lion family meeting one new family member at a time. Nickadapted very well since he was a curious youngster. By the end of the summerseason, Nick had not only learned to work with several different trainers and beenintroduced to all the other pinnipeds, but had also learned many behaviors andmade his show debut. This fun-loving young sea lion certainly won our keepers’hearts and will be charming zoo guests with his zest for life and his increasingrepertoire in our sea lion shows for many years.left aye-ayeright hyena cub»status of theanimal collectiondecember 31, 200812