‘Sugar,” one of the Seward Sealife Center’s female Steller sea lions, has died.
Center officials say the 21-year old female was euthanized Wednesday due to complications with bone degeneration. Veterinarians were monitoring Sugar’s health closely due to her advanced age and say she hadn’t been showing any signs of pain or discomfort, but significant bone loss/damage was found during routine radiograph screenings.
Sugar came to Seward from the Vancouver aquarium when the Sealife Center opened in 1998.
Researchers say a necropsy will help them learn more about age-related bone disease in Steller sea lions.
