Diego - Patagonian Sea Lion

DIEGO was born in a marine park in Valencia, Spain on 1st July 2005 and joined the Cornish Seal Sanctuary family on the 26th of March 2009.

Diego was a little reluctant to take the plunge into his new pool when he first arrived at the Sanctuary, perhaps the water was a little colder then he was used to!   He had no such worries and would confidently leap from the jump off rock into the pool. Coming from sunny Spain Diego loved the sun and chooses the rocks on the beach haul-out to blissfully bask the afternoon away!

Diego´s favourite playtime activities involve fishy icicles and fish balls.
Diego
Just click here or on the photo of your choice below to see a larger version.
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Sea Lions Arrived in 2009!
Sea Lions Logo
There was great excitement at the Sanctuary on the 26th of March 2009, with the arrival of two new Sea Lions all the way from Costa Blanca in Spain. Their names are Noito and Diego.

The Sea Lions arrived just after 6pm and they were very keen to get out of the van and explore their new home.

Once in the annex area, the staff took the gate down so they could both meet Rocky and Boadicea. Boadi was happy to see two more Patagonian Sea Lions and there was lots of kisses exchanged between them.

Both hungry from the journey next was feeding time, but both a little reluctant to get into the water, in the end one pushed the other in the water.

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Sea Lions
Both were fascinated by the underwater viewing, and cannot understand why there are people in their pool.   Click here to read the BBC News Article.
Diego and Noito

Sadly Diego´s brother, Noito, passed away on the 4th of November 2022.

Tamara Cooper, the Sanctuary´s Curator said "It is with huge sadness that we announce the passing of Diego, our beautiful resident sea lion here at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary on 17th December 2023.

In October 2023, Diego experienced issues with paraphimosis, a urologic emergency that caused extreme inflammation and required urgent medical intervention. However, despite initial success, a second setback in recent days saw him develop more complications, despite a quick response from our team and local veterinary partners.

Putting Diego´s welfare needs first, the difficult decision was made to let him go to ensure he did not needlessly suffer without hope of a full recovery.   At this time, we await lab results from a post-mortem examination to fully understand the cause of his sudden deterioration."   Click here to read more.
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