Sea lion at St. Louis Zoo dies

ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis Zoo officials hope a necropsy will show what killed a sea lion who died soon after a performance at the zoo.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/q2qF6C ) reports that R.J., an 8-year-old California sea lion, was one of six performing in the zoo's sea lion shows. Zoo spokeswoman Janet Powell says R.J. was found dead Sunday after performing at a public show.

The necropsy was Monday, but it wasn't clear when results would be available.

Powell says R.J. was acting normally before the show, but the trainer noticed he was behaving a little strangely during the performance. She didn't have details about what the strange behavior was.

California sea lions typically live in captivity for 20 years.


Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com