Sea lion exiting Bloomington zoo, seals on the way

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) — The sea lion that's called the zoo in Bloomington home for 2004 is headed south, but a pair of marine mammals of a different type will take her place.

Gremlin has been at the Miller Park Zoo since 2004, but alone since her mate died in 2011. The California sea lion will leave April 2 for Kentucky's Louisville Zoo, where she'll move into a habitat that's home to other sea lions and seals.

Miller Zoo superintendent Jay Tetzloff tells The Pantagraph in Bloomington (http://bit.ly/ZAVO95 ) that two harbor seals will arrive a few weeks after Gremlin leaves.

The harbor seals are both a year old. Their names are Kash and McGraw.

Gremlin has been one of the Miller Park Zoo's most popular attractions.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com