Riverbanks Zoo welcomes female sea lion

The four male sea lions and male harbor seal at Riverbanks Zoo’s Sea Lion Landing have a new female friend.

Annette, a California sea lion, age unknown, came to Riverbanks in late July from Squalus, Inc. in Myrtle Beach, the zoo said in a press release.

Annette was transferred to Squalus from Sea World San Diego.

Annette was stranded, rehabilitated and released on four separate occasions between December 2014 and June 2015. When she was stranded a fifth time in September 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deemed her non-releasable and placed her permanently in human care.

Two of the male sea lions at Riverbanks, Maverick and Ranger, also are considered non-releasable. Sea Lion Landing is a $12 million exhibit part of the zoo’s yearslong expansion and development project. The exhibit opened in May.

According to the release, Annette’s introduction to the all-male mix has gone “swimmingly.”

Related: New sea lion exhibit at Riverbanks Zoo ‘best in the country’

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Riverbanks Zoo welcomes female sea lion."