Where is Luna? Follow Her Stay at Mystic Aquarium

In early April, our female northern fur seal Luna made the short trip over to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, where she’ll be staying for the next few years. The hope is that while she is there, she’ll be able to breed with one of the two male northern fur seals at Mystic!

While we’ll miss Luna here, it’s an exciting opportunity for the aquarium community and for northern fur seals as a species. They are a threatened species in the wild, and many northern fur seals who live at zoos and aquariums around the US were stranded animals who are unable to be released. (That’s how Luna came to live with us!) But this has been a rare occurrence over the past few years—a good thing, notes Assistant Curator of Pinnipeds Patty Schilling, as the goal is to see rehabilitated animals re-released into the wild. “Now, we’re moving to the next phase of sustaining the species in zoos and aquariums,” Patty said. “Luna is the hope for that plan.”

Because there are a lot of unknowns right now, it’s hard to say when Luna might return to the Aquarium—but we’ll be keeping an eye on her and sharing updates.

Stay tuned here for all things Luna, and watch for more news on our social media!