Pacifiers, plastic bags, dinosaurs, necklaces, pencils, maps and footballs are just a few of the items that have dropped into the Australian Sea Lion exhibit at Adelaide Zoo but none of these have proved as bad for our sea lions health as much as the simple coin. A coin is such an unassuming item but sitting at the bottom of a pool can look like a shiny little fish to an inquisitive sea lion and this is exactly what our male Australian Sea Lion "Tasko" thought.

During a recent health check 7 coins were found in Tasko's stomach. It was with the specialist equipment of human enterologist, Dr. Jonathan Martin, which we were able to find these coins, as they never showed up on preliminary X-rays, hiding behind other items in his stomach.

The coins, being indigestible, would have acted like a sieve in Tasko's stomach, greatly reducing his digestion as fish would sit in his stomach for at least double the normal amount of time. This caused Tasko to go days without eating, sleep much more than usual and have no interest in training and interacting with his keepers. During this time he lost 30kgs, getting down to 120kgs, a stark comparison to the possible 200kgs he could weigh as a young eight year old male. We are also very lucky that all the coins were Australian because other currencies can contain toxic metals and this would have had greater, possibly fatal, effects on Tasko's health.

Not only does rubbish affect our sea lions at Adelaide Zoo but also wild ones. Marine debris, rubbish that ends up in the ocean, can cause injury and fatality to a wide range of marine life by ingestion of or entanglement in it. Every year at least 300-400 Australian Sea Lions and Fur Seals die from marine debris; fishing nets, lines and plastics causing the most damage. For more information about wild Australian Sea Lions and simple things you can do to help them head to our Sea Lion page.

Tasko, now $1.10 lighter, is on the rebound, enthusiastically getting back into training, eating really well, putting on weight and keen to learn new behaviours. Currently we are training Tasko for hand injection, a behaviour that benefits all especially Tasko by making his 6 monthly vaccinations a much less stressful experience. He is also playing heaps with Ady (which she loves).

Next time you are at Adelaide Zoo make sure to check out our 11.45am sea lion feed and see our keepers having fun with Ady and Tasko. We also ask you please dispose of your rubbish in the bins provided at the zoo and when leaning over the boardwalk to watch our playful Australian Sea Lions, please watch any loose items that could fall in.

Arliah
Carnivore Keeper, Adelaide Zoo