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Visit
the Smithsonian's Marine Science Network.
Seals and Sea Lions Exhibit
There are two species of pinnipeds at the National
Zoo: California sea lions and gray seals. You can see
them in their pools in the outdoor Seals and Sea Lion Exhibit or on the rocks in their
ocean-like habitat. The Sea Lion Exhibit is also home to brown pelicans (they are currently in their winter home at the Zoo and are off exhibit).
Many other North American animals live in Beaver
Valley and can be seen in outdoor exhibits. 
See a Zoo
map.
Our seals and sea lions are fed three times a day and participate in daily training sessions at 11:30 a.m.
California Sea Lions
The Zoo has two young female California sea lions, Calli and Summer.
Summer and Calli were rescued in June 2005 on separate beaches in California and raised at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California.
Summer was abandoned by her mother within hours of giving birth. Calli's mother died soon after giving birth. Because the pups were hand-reared, they have become dependant on, and accustomed to, humans.
Summer and Calli came to the Zoo in spring 2006. They turned two years old this past June. In late March, they weighed about 100 pounds each, which is about half the size they will be when fully mature.
Summer and Calli delight in playing at the underwater viewing window, and will often interact with the visitors who are watching them. Both pups have learned an impressive number of trained behaviors in the short time they have been here, and are able to fully participate in the daily training demonstration at 11:30. They do many medical and natural behaviors, and love to retrieve objects out of the pool.
Summer is inquisitive, hard-working, and strong-willed, whereas Calli is easy going but cautious about new things. Together, they turn everything into a game, and they have quickly become two of our visitors' favorite animals.
Learn about California sea lions.
Gray Seals
The National Zoo has two gray seals: Gunnar, a male, and Selkie, a female.
Gunnar
Gunnar was wild-born in Iceland in November 1973,
and donated to the Zoo by the Naval Ocean Systems Center
(NOSC) on January 18, 1979. He is fed about 20 pounds of
fish a day, although this can vary during the year. He is
occasionally separated from Selkie during breeding season
if he is being aggressive.
Gunnar has a roman nose with a pink spot and is larger than Selkie. He averages 450 pounds in the summer and 550 pounds in the winter.
Selkie
Selkie was wild-born in Iceland in November 1973,
and donated to the Zoo by the Naval Ocean Systems
Center (NOSC) on January 18, 1979. She receives eight
pounds of fish a day. Selkie is from the Eastern
population of gray seals and cycles in November and
December.
She was trained to dive to 800 feet as a scout, with a screwdriver held in her flipper, and was learning to insert and turn it when the Navy disbanded the program. She also worked on repetitive dives. The Navy was looking at their application to human dives.
Selkie has an exceptionally pretty face, and clearly marked dappling on her underside. She weighs about 320 pounds.
