Feisty the famous seal makes ABQ BioPark his new home
Sea mammal made news in 2012 when he escaped from Minnesota zoo
A harbor seal with a penchant for adventure, Facebook friends and a Twitter following has arrived at his new home in the Albuquerque zoo.
Feisty, a male seal who has big eyes and dark skin with white rosettes, became Internet famous in 2012 after he and another harbor seal escaped an enclosure at the Lake Superior Zoo when a flood hit Duluth, Minn. Photos soon surfaced of a lost-looking Feisty making his way across Duluth’s Grand Avenue.
“I don’t think a lot of seals have a back story like that,” ABQ BioPark zookeeper supervisor
Shelly Dicks said Monday. “It’s quite unusual.”
Displaced by the flood, Feisty was sent to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, Minn., where he stayed until making the move to Albuquerque last month. He was quarantined for a few weeks after his arrival, but was introduced into the BioPark’s seal and sea lion exhibit at the end of November. His roommates include two more harbor seals, a gray seal and a sea lion.
“He’s already found a favorite spot in the pool,” Dicks said.
At 25, Feisty is middle-aged for his species. Dicks said another of the zoo’s harbor seals is 40.
Dicks said the zoo was looking to add a seal to its exhibit after losing a couple of the residents over the past few years. But the main plan was to bring in a potential mate for Gracie, another harbor seal, she said.
“It’s not really online dating, but it was a match that was made for them,” she said.
It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that Feisty might have his own online dating profile. After his big adventure, a Twitter profile popped up, where Feisty periodically posted updates shared with his 645 followers. There’s also a Friends of Feisty Facebook profile.
Despite what his name might imply, Dicks said, Feisty is actually quite calm, and zookeepers have fallen in love with him.
“He’s a very personable seal,” Dicks said. “He came to us with a lot of trained behavior, so he’s very interactive and fun to work with.”
Asked whether the zoo anticipated Feisty would make a second escape, Dicks said, “No, no, no.
“Our exhibit is very secure; I think he’s here to stay.”