Tiergarten Nürnberg

On 3 March 2011, sea lion Nancy had to be put down. With her almost 27 years, she was one of the oldest female sea lions in Europe. For several months, she had been in pain due to arthrosis, had to be treated against it and often suffered from diminished appetite. For more than one week she had been lying apathetically on the island of the Aquapark and neither wanted to eat nor move.

Nancy was born at the Tiergarten of the City of Nuremberg on 12 May 1984 as member of the second generation of sea lions and had to be reared by hand. After she had been integrated in the sea lion harem without any problems, Nancy successfully raised seven pups from 1993 until 2003. Some of them - Ella, Chris and Soda - still live at the Tiergarten. The other young sea lions were brought to Stuttgart, the Netherlands, Spain and Japan. The harem's boss Patrick had fathered all her offspring. Nancy who was well-known to the visitors due to the commented feedings at the Aquapark, significantly contributed with her offspring to the fact that at the Tiergarten Nürnberg, sea lions are kept highly successfully. 56 sea lions have been raised up until the sixth generation since 1963.