Further From Aquarium Re Sea Lion Deaths

Dear Aquarium members and friends,

We continue to grieve the tragic deaths of our sea lions that have been a part of our Aquarium family. They are greatly missed. We thank you for your concern for both our animals and staff. It has been the notes of condolence and support from our members and friends of the Aquarium that have helped our staff deal with this devastating loss.

As promised, we wanted you to be the first to know of any updates regarding the deaths of our sea lions. After a thorough investigation, the Aquarium of the Pacific believes that a major contributing cause of the death of Kona and her pup on July 1 was that the animals were not watered down enough to keep them cool for that particular hour that day, which resulted in heat exhaustion. There have been key personnel changes at the Aquarium, including the departure of two staff. We are also conducting a root cause analysis to determine if there are any other possible adjustments that can be made. This has been difficult, but we believe we are acting in the best interest of the institution and our animals. The animals in our care are a great responsibility and even a simple mistake can have tragic results. The entire staff is driven to do everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again.

Thank you for your support during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Jerry R. Schubel
President and CEO
Aquarium of the Pacific