New England Aquarium welcomes 2 new sea lions

Two sea lions from Alabama are settling in nicely in their new home at the New England Aquarium.

Farley and Giovanni, a pair of 15-year-old California sea lions, moved to the Boston aquarium in June from their previous home at the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama. The male (Farley) and female (Giovanni) are now permanent residents of the aquarium's New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, where they joined three other California sea lions: Zoe, Sierra and Tipper.

"We are very excited for the addition of a male sea lion and an additional female sea lion. Farley and Gio are at the perfect age to socialize with our resident sea lions, and we feel that this will not only be very enriching for all five of the sea lions but also align with our goal of providing the highest level of care for our animals," Kristen McMahon, curator of pinnipeds and penguins at the aquarium, said.

Farley and Gio became stranded on California beaches twice in 2009 and were deemed unable to return to their natural habitat after undergoing care at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. The sea lions were moved to the Birmingham Zoo through a recommendation by the California Sea Lion Species Survival Plan.

The sea lions made the trip to Boston on board a FedEx flight, accompanied by trainers and a veterinarian from the aquarium. Since their arrival in June, they have been working on building relationships with their new trainers and gradually transitioning into the public exhibit space as they adjust to life with the aquarium's other sea lions.