Zoo-min’ to Bronx

Halftime the sea lion is moving from the left coast to the Bronx Zoo. AN ORPHANED California sea lion pup who bellied up to an oceanside bar during the Super Bowl now has a new home at the Bronx Zoo.

The pup was found stranded and alone at just five months old in Ventura, Calif., in December.

“She was scared,” said Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo, which is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Animal rescuers cared for her before releasing her back into the sea, only to have her show up stranded in Santa Barbara three weeks later.

She was treated for worms and released again, only to pop up on at Mr. Rick’s Beach Bar in Avila Beach, where patrons were glued to the Super Bowl.

When fans spotted the sea lion on the patio peering through a sliding glass door, they nicknamed her “Halftime.”

“Sea lions don’t normally hang out at bars,” said Jim Oswald of the Mammal Marine Center in Sausalito, where Halftime was treated for dehydration after her hijinks.

“She took a liking to humans. It sounds cute, but at the end of the day it’s not the best thing for her.”

Animal experts decided to offer her to the Bronx Zoo. Halftime joined four older animals in the popular outdoor sea lion exhibit last month. She now enjoys plenty of human interaction but also gets to socialize with her own kind.

“She’s found the family she was looking for,” Breheny said.