Our Seals - Dolphin Marine Magic

Dolphin marine magic currently has eleven australian sea lions (neophoca cinerea) living at the park.

With twevle pups born here in the past twenty years (several pups have since moved to other Australian marine mammal facilities), Dolphin Marine Magic has the most successful breeding record for the endangered Australian Sea Lion of any facility worldwide. Let us introduce you to our family...

Nikki

Born: May 11, 1985 at the Adelaide Marineland; Father - Frisco; Mother - Mamma Cass
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Nikki moved to Dolphin Marine Magic in 1991 with her mother and several other seals after her old home, at the Adelaide Marineland, closed and all the seals living there were marked to be destroyed.

As the oldest living Australian Sea lion at any facility in Australia, Nikki is now enjoying retirement and taking it easy, although she still doesn't mind coming out occasionally in the Marine Magic presentations for a feed from the children! As the mother of Opal and Maxine (and grandmother of Maxine’s offspring), elder sister of Elle and aunt of Cindy, Nikki is the matriarch seal at the park and doesn’t tolerate any silliness from the younger animals!

Nikki is often found hanging out with her eldest daughter, Opal, who both spent several years homed together at the Sydney Aquarium in the mid 2000s. Nikki and Opal returned to Dolphin Marine Magic in 2009.

Abby

Born: October 16, 2007 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Hercules; Mother - Cindy
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

As the youngest daughter of Cindy and little sister of Athena and April (now living at Underwater World on the Sunshine Coast), Abby is a quiet little seal who constantly surprises the Marine Mammal Specialist at her fast learning ability. Despite her young age, Abby is already an eager participant in shows and her cute appearance and lovely nature makes her a favourite of many guests when she participants in our various seal interaction programs.

Adelaide

Born: Approx. 2007 (Rescued wild born seal)
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Adelaide was rescued as an orphaned pup in 2008 from a beach South Australia and was hand raised by Marine Mammal Specialists right here at Dolphin Marine Magic. Although she was initially a very quiet and laid back animal, Adelaide has grown into her own over last several years and has recently started to display a livelier and more sea lion like personality. She is also a master problem solver and loves playing with the enclosure gates, trying to work out how to open them.

As a wild born animal, Adelaide is very valuable to the captive Australian Sea Lion gene pool and she will one day be a very important part of the breeding program here at the park. At the end of the day, Adelaide will almost always been seen huddling up to her best friend, Athena.

Athena

Born: October 6, 2004 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Hercules; Mother - Cindy
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

The eldest daughter of Cindy, Athena is a great all rounder seal and can often be seen in shows and animal interactions or even playing with children school education programs at the park, teaching young child about the importance of caring for the environment and respect for our animal friends. Athena’s friend is Adelaide and the two partners in crime can often been seen together when out on free time, exploring the park and playing with the dolphins.

Cindy

Born: July 9, 1997 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Solomon; Mother - Tina
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Although Cindy is the mother of three of the seals born at the park, Athena, April and Abby, Cindy is an unusual sea lion in the fact that she isn’t as sociable as other seals and seems to prefer spending time on her own. Although she is a very clever seal, she doesn't seem to prefer any particular toys to play with however she does really love the chance to come out for freetime and interact with the dolphins.

Because of Cindy’s inquisitive nature and fast learning capabilities, she is often selected for filming and photo shoots and over the years she has appeared in numerous TV commercials and print media, including in her very own clean up our oceans campaign.

Elle

Born: December 20, 1994 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Hercules; Mother - Mamma Cass
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Elle is a very quiet and relaxed seal who is wonderful for interactions with young children and can often been seen taking part in the daily kisses at the park. Elle also underwent eye surgery to remove cataracts from her both eyes and has only just recently returned to the show after a break following the medical procedure. Elle’s favourite toy to play with is ice which she likes push around with her flipper or suck on with her mouth to get the cold water from it. Elle has a special bond with Opal, who is of a similar age, and Elle can often be seen following Opal around whenever they are housed together.

Maxine

Born: July 19, 1997 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Sonny; Mother - Nikki
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Maxine is a gentle, fun loving seal that really enjoys playing with her rope toys. She is also quite a sociable seal and gets along well with all the other animals at the park. Maxine is also one of the favourite 'Kissing' seals here at the park, where she delights our guests with her prickly whiskers as she plants a cool but fishy kiss on cheeks. As a mother to our youngest Australian Sea Lion 'Miri' (April 2009), and our maturing male 'Rocky' (2006), we hope Maxine will continue to be a part of the park’s breeding program for a few more years in the future.

Miri

Born: April 4, 2009 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Hercules; Mother - Maxine
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Miri is a sassy, energetic seal who loves eating and is a fast learner. When sleeping, she can often still be seen cuddling up to her mother, Maxine. Although she is the youngest sea lion at the park, she isn’t afraid to step up and show the older seals who's boss!

Opal

Born: March 23, 1994 at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Hercules; Mother - Nikki
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Opal is a retired seal that recently underwent eye surgery to remove cataracts from both eyes. She spent a number of years in the mid 2000s homed at Sydney Aquarium with her mother Nikki before returning back to us in 2009. While Opal does not participate in the Marine Magic Presentations any more, she is still a favourite with all the staff and loves problem solving toys and exploring the park with Nikki and her best friend Elle whilst on free time.

Rocky

Born: at Dolphin Marine Magic; Father - Solomon; Mother - Maxine
Species: Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Rocky is our oldest adolescent male at the park and takes after his father in his relaxed and gentle nature. Although he is the largest seal at the park (and he still has a lot more growing to do yet) he is the perfect animal for children to interact with and he can often be seen participating n our school marine Ed-ventures. As young seal, he still enjoys playing with many different toys however his favourites are any toys with ropes. Once he reaches maturity at around 10 years of age, Rocky will become an important of the park’s breeding program and help to ensure another generation of Australian Sea lions.