This morning I dropped MJ off at the airport. To cheer myself up and enjoy the beautiful weather I decided to take a detour on my way home to visit the San Francisco Zoo.
If you read my blog you know that as a member I visit frequently. Took lots of pictures (set here) and was generally enjoying the visit. Slash the cassowary was out! One of the polar bears was posing for pictures! The grizzly bears were running around in anticipation for their breakfast!
Then I got to Orkney’s pool.
Orkney’s pool was empty. All his signs were gone. A zoo staff member was nearby so I quickly asked her about it and she conveyed the bad news, Orkney had passed away the previous month. There were some tears and she admitted that she had cried too when she learned.
From the San
 Francisco
 Zoo
 Mourns
 the
 Death
 of
 “Orkney” the 
Beloved
 Grey 
Seal press release on March 2nd:
SAN
 FRANCISCO 
– 
Today, 
San 
Francisco 
Zoo 
is 
sad 
to 
announce 
the 
loss 
of 
Orkney, 
an
 Atlantic
 grey 
seal 
that 
arrived 
at 
the 
Zoo 
in
 1970.
 He
 was 
42
 years
 old 
and 
considered
 the 
oldest 
grey
 seal 
living
 in 
any 
North 
American 
Association 
of 
Zoos 
and 
Aquariums’
 (AZA) 
captive
 populations. 
He
 was
 born
 in
 the
 wild
 at 
Prince
 Edward
 Island
 in 
Eastern
 Canada
 and
 was 
a
 favorite
 among
 staff
 and 
visitors. He
 shared 
his 
exhibit 
with other
 grey
 seals 
over the
 years
 and
 sired
 multiple 
offspring
 between
 1979
 and 
1983.




For
 the
 past 
several 
months,
 Orkney
 had 
been
 undergoing 
medical 
treatments
 as 
well 
as
 regular
 training
 sessions
 that 
allowed 
staff 
to 
monitor 
his 
weight 
and 
conduct 
visual
 exams. 
Yesterday, 
his 
keepers 
noticed
 that 
he 
was 
extremely 
lethargic 
and 
weak. 
They
 kept 
a 
close 
eye 
on 
him 
in 
hopes 
his condition 
would
 improve. 
On Friday
 morning,
 his
 breathing
 was 
deep
 and 
labored,
 and 
he 
showed 
no 
signs 
of 
engagement 
or 
interaction.
 After 
careful 
consultation 
with 
the 
Zoo’s 
Animal 
Care 
staff 
and 
the 
Chief 
of 
Veterinary
 Services, 
the 
decision 
to 
euthanize 
him 
was 
made.




“Unfortunately, 
we 
had 
to 
make 
the 
decision 
to 
say 
goodbye 
to 
Orkney,” 
Tanya 
M.
 Peterson, 
San 
Francisco
 Zoological
 Society
 Executive 
Director 
and 
President 
said. “He
 had
 been 
our 
own 
Lance
 Armstrong
 by 
beating
 the 
odds 
for 
so 
long. 
He’ll 
be 
greatly
 missed
 by 
staff 
and 
visitors 
alike.”
Orkney swimming in his pool, September 29, 2010
I love animals and it would be impossible for me to say what is my favorite, or even what general type is my favorite, but I do adore pinnipeds. I go up to Pier 39 to visit the sea lions regularly, I was delighted by the seal-covered beaches in Monterey and I’m a member of the Marine Mammal Center and have said “if I ever give up this open source stuff, I’ll go volunteer there.” When I joined the zoo in 2010 Orkney was the only pinniped (they now also have two sea lions, the blind rescues Silent Knight and Henry) and so I made a point to visit him every time to say hello. On my birthday I joked that I went to see him “to see someone older than me.”
The last time I saw Orkney was when I was last at the zoo on February 4th, soaking up the sun near his pool.
Orkney resting by his pool, February 4, 2012
I am glad he was able to live such a long life with the care he had, but I will miss him.