Meet our seals

Meet our South African fur seals

Gimli - female, born 22 November 1986 at Sea World.
Character: She has a proud and confident nature.
Activities: She enjoys being massaged by water hoses and bubbles from the divers.
Interesting fact: Gimli has the longest whiskers of all the seals at Sea World.

Shadow  - male, rescued by Sea World after a serious shark bite on his lower body.
He washed up at Mtunzini on the KwaZulu-Natal coast in 1994. Mtunzini means “Place of Shade”. 

Character: He has an energetic nature and is the dominant male in our seal colony.
Activities: He enjoys fish ice-lollies and observing the trainers.
Interesting fact:  Shadow prefers eating his fish by starting with the tail.  

Jabulani - male, stranded as a young pup in East London and found by a school group in 1996. 

Character: He is our gentle giant.
Activities: He also enjoys fish ice-lollies.
Interesting fact:  Jabulani means “Happiness” in Zulu.  He only weighed 35kgs on arrival at Sea World  and now weighs over 130kg. He is the largest of the seals in our seal colony.

Hlabathi - female, rescued as a pup from Kleinseë on 24 July 1998 when fish stocks reached an all time low.  Her name means "earth" or “sand” in Zulu. She was named after one of the elements where she was found on the West Coast of South Africa. 
Character: She has a dynamic nature and is quite feisty.
Activities: She enjoys playing at the large acrylic windows in the exhibits, often chasing soap bubbles running down the windows. She has also been seen amusing herself by inventing her own games at the windows.
Interesting fact: Hlabathi weighed 8kgs on arrival at Sea World and now weighs over 50kg.


Ilanga - female, rescued as a pup from Kleinseë in 1998 when fish stocks reached an all time low. Illanga means “sun” in Zulu, named after one of the elements where she was found on the West Coast of South Africa. 
Character: She has a fearless and confident nature. Ilanga is our most dominant female within our seal colony. Ilanga is extremely vocal and she seems to have a sense of humour.
Activities: She enjoys playing with water hoses and is often seen holding the hose for other seals. She also enjoys chasing birds.
Interesting fact: Ilanga appears to have "eyebrows" when she is underwater, making her identification in a group very easy.

Moya - female, rescued as a pup from Kleinseë in 1998.  Moya means “wind” or “spirit” in Zulu. 
Character: True to her name, she has a spirited nature.
Activities: She enjoys playing with ice blocks and the water hoses.
Interesting fact: Moya weighed 9kgs on arrival at Sea World and now weighs over 60kg, making her one of our largest females.

Thembeka - female. Thembeka was one of ten pups to strand on a beach in Port Elizabeth after a bad storm. She still had her umbilical cord attached to her.  She arrived at Sea World on 6th January 1998. Thembeka means “hope” in Zulu.  
Character: She is curious and confident.
Activities: She enjoys exploring her environment. 

Interesting fact:  Thembeka has wavy hair, unlike other seals that have short straight hair.

Hobi - male, was found as an 8 month old pup off Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth. He had a tooth abscess and his lower right canine had to be removed.
Character: He has a gentle but adventurous nature.
Activities: He enjoys playing with water hoses (he tucks the hose under his flipper and aims the water into his mouth), exploring his environment, sparring with the other seals and looking for attention.
Interesting fact: Hobi has been at Sea World since 28 August 2005. Due to his missing canine, he tends to "lisp" when vocalising.

                                                                                                                                                   Daisy - female, relocated to Sea World from Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town on 31 October 2007.
Character: She is gentle and playful.
Activities: Daisy interacts with any toys that she is given, seldom keen to share them with any other seals. 
Interesting fact: Daisy has one upturned white whisker as an identifying feature.

Mullet - female, relocated to Sea World from Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town on 31 October 2007.
Character: She is timid. 
Activities: Mullet enjoys chewing on fresh kelp.  
Interesting fact: Mullet is named after her favourite food.

Tee - female, relocated to Sea World from Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town on 31 October 2007.
Character: She is adventurous and curious. 
Activities: Tee is very observant and enjoys playing with puzzle feeders.  
Interesting fact: Tee was named "Terminator" as a pup due to her feisty nature. This name no longer applies and she is affectionatley now just known as "Tee".

Dosy - female, relocated to Sea World from Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town on 31 October 2007.
Character: She is confident and interactive. 
Activities: Dosy is a dominant female and throws her weight around.  She is not afraid to explore her surroundings.  
Interesting fact: Dosy was lazy as a pup, which explains her name.