Two Ontario seals die during transport to U.S. zoo

Two harbour seals from a London, Ont. theme park died as they were being transported to the Saint Louis Zoo, where they were expected to live their final years in a new, state-of-the-art exhibit, city officials announced Sunday.

The seals, named Nunavut and Atlantis, died as they were being driven in an air-conditioned trailer equipped specifically for marine mammal transport.

They were on their way from Storybook Gardens in London, which is in the process of transferring all of its zoo animals -- including a beaver, otter, lynx and birds of prey -- to sanctuaries in Canada and the United States.

A third seal, named Cri Cri, had to be taken to the Indianapolis Zoo, where she remains for treatment, after falling ill during the trip.

A fourth seal, named Peanut, arrived safely at the St. Louis facility on Saturday and will remain in quarantine for the required 30-day period.

"This is a deeply sad day for Londoners and all those people who knew and loved our Storybook seals," London Mayor Joe Fontana said in a statement issued on Sunday. "No one could have foreseen this terrible tragedy."

Fontana went on to say that veterinarians from both London and St. Louis inspected the animals earlier this year and found "no significant health issues."

Fontana said the cause of the animals' distress is not yet known.

"It is a sad day especially for Storybook staff who have loved and cared for these seals for years," Fontana said. "We were trying to do what was best for the seals: find them a more appropriate place to live out their years."

Storybook Gardens is a family oriented theme park that offers rides, games, a water park and other entertainment geared to children. A trail that runs through the park is called "Storybook Valley," and features landmarks from popular children's stories.

According to a timeline of events provided in Fontana's statement, a curator with the Saint Louis Zoo who was travelling with the seals observed that the animals seemed fine around the time they passed through U.S. Customs around 1 p.m. on Friday. At that time, they were also inspected by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service.

The animals also seemed fine during another check two hours later.

But during another check one hour and 45 minutes after that, one of the seals was not responsive. The curator contacted the nearest zoo, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, where officials confirmed one seal had died and another was showing signs of distress. After attempts were made to save its life, the second seal also died.

At the same time, the third seal, Cri Cri, began showing distress symptoms, and was treated, stabilized and monitored through the night. However, she had to be left at the Indianapolis Zoo when she began exhibiting behavioural changes as the transport continued toward St. Louis.

Peanut, the fourth seal, arrived in St. Louis appearing "healthy and alert," Fontana's statement said.

Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo, offered his condolences to the Storybook Gardens staff.

"When Storybook Gardens asked us to provide a home for four harbour seals, we were happy to step forward and provide an opportunity for these animals to live out their golden years in our new, state-of-the-art exhibit," Bonner said. "We do everything we can when transporting animals to ensure their safety and comfort, but there is always some risk inherent in any animal transport."

A veterinary pathologist will perform a necropsy on both animals. The animals' cause of death will not be known until all testing is complete, which may take several weeks.

Florine Morrison, a director of Zoocheck Canada, an agency that helped co-ordinate and pay for the seals' transfer, said "we only learned about the seals deaths Sunday morning. We were shocked by the news and we look forward to answers from the Saint Louis Zoo as to the cause of death and to understand if protocols were carefully followed during the transport."

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120610/london-ontario-seals-120610/#ixzz1xVMuVi00