The maned seals in Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo have had offspring. The young animal was baptized in the name Vaiana – meaning “girl from the water”, announced the management of the zoo on Tuesday. It was born on July 21st. It was the first birth of a maned seal in the Munich zoo in four years. As a result, the family in Hellabrunn has grown to six animals, as the zoo announced.
Maned seals, which are also known as “South American sea lions”, live on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America and the offshore islands. In the past, they were often hunted and considered critically endangered. In the meantime, the populations have grown again thanks to species protection measures.