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Summary for: Czech zoo to reveal more after sea lion dies from swallowed toyA 17-year-old sea lion has died at Liberec Zoo after swallowing the head of a doll that had been found in his pool, prompting the zoo to call an extraordinary press conference for Monday.
Keepers found Hugo, a male maned sea lion, dead in the outdoor pool Saturday morning. An immediate autopsy found the head of a doll in his digestive tract.
Zoo workers had fished the damaged toy out of the pool two days earlier, according to zoo spokeswoman Barbora Tesařová.
“A foreign body very likely caused the processes that led to Hugo’s death,” Tesařová said, adding that the zoo is still waiting for laboratory results from samples taken during the autopsy.
Zoo's only sea lion
Hugo was the only sea lion at Liberec Zoo, which has bred maned sea lions since 1975. More than 20 individuals have passed through the zoo's sea lion exhibit over the years. The zoo said it is already arranging for new animals to arrive and preparing improvements to the sea lion pavilion.
The death has prompted renewed concern among visitors about objects getting into animal enclosures.
Some visitors to the zoo said they believed stronger barriers or nets could help prevent similar incidents, while others focused on the responsibility of adults supervising children.
“There are probably no levers to find and punish these people,” Hanka from Brno told iDnes.cz. “The garden will probably have to work on educating people so that they realize that these things can happen and watch their children.”
The death has also renewed the zoo's warning to visitors not to feed animals or throw objects into their enclosures. The zoo urged anyone who sees something potentially dangerous to immediately alert a keeper.
“If you notice something with the animals that could be dangerous for them, do not be indifferent and immediately notify the nearest zoo employee.”
The zoo said that taking action quickly could help save an animal's health or life.
A Liberec Zoo sea lion died after swallowing a toy thrown into its pool. Should visitors face tougher penalties for putting zoo animals at risk?
A troubling history
Hugo's death is not the first time a Liberec sea lion has died after apparently ingesting an object left in the enclosure by visitors.
A male sea lion named Nico died in 2009 after swallowing a fist-sized stone believed to have been thrown into the pool, while a female named Maravilla died in 2007 in similar circumstances.
The zoo has called an extraordinary press conference for Monday, when it plans to provide further information about the incident and announce the steps it will take.
