Do they still recognize the surroundings?
Does the water still smell like it did in 2001?
After all, Daisy and Egoli spent the first years of their lives swimming and crawling in the Frankfurt Zoo.
Now, after two decades, the two South African fur seals have returned to their old homeland, where they were born in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
They fill a gap left by the death of seal bull Otti in recent months.
“It is nice that eared seals can be seen here again.
Because we definitely want to show the differences to the dog seals, to which our seals belong,” says zoo veterinarian Nicole Schauerte, who is the curator responsible for the seals.
"This is a good way to explain how different the adaptation of the various seal species to the sea habitat can be.
Daniel Meuren
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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The return of the two females, who have lived in Rostock since 2001 and have had offspring several times, was made possible because the seal enclosure in Rostock is being renovated.
As a result, they had to exchange their previous home for the old one.
Elegant swimming maneuvers
"The docile fur seals are among the visitors' favourites, and the feeding of these animals is one of the highlights of every visit to the zoo," says Ina Hartwig, head of the culture department at the zoo.
“The animals are also interesting from a didactic point of view.
The large underwater views of the facility allow a good view of the elegant swimming maneuvers of the large animals, which seem a bit sluggish to us on land.”
According to the Red List of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), South African fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) are currently not endangered, but the impact of climate change on the Benguela Current in the South Atlantic could have negative effects on the population in the future.