A male sea lion on has died of exhaustion after a marathon mating session at a zoo in Germany. The mammal, named Mike who was originally from California, was already a father of 12. He passed away yesterday after an extended session with the females at the park in Nuremberg proved too much for his heart.
Mike – described as ‘good-natured’ by the zoo – had mated repeatedly with females Farah, Tiffy and Soda.
The park said in a statement that the 550lb mammal began showing tiredness around midday: ‘Mike could no longer get out of the pool and was brought ashore by staff.
‘The extremely weakened animal was treated by a vet but died from acute heart failure around 3:30 pm.
‘Mating season is a common time for fatalities when bulls often stop eating for days to devote themselves fully to mating.
‘For sea lion bulls with a harem this is the most exhausting time.
‘He will be remembered fondly by visitors of the animal park for his appearances during shows in the dolphinarium where he had close contact with the dolphins,’ added the statement.
Mike’s 12 children can be found in zoos all over Europe, from Berlin to Spain to the Netherlands, the zoo said.
He was 19 – two years older than the average life expectancy of a sea lion in captivity.
Beluga whale saves diver
A beluga whale in a Chinese aquarium saved a diver by pushing her out of the water when she had sudden cramps in her legs.
A spokesman for Harbin Polar Land in north-east China’s Heilongjiang province said the diver was taking part in a competition in the aquarium. Entrants were required to dive into the 6-metre-deep cool pool without any breathing equipment. The person who dives the deepest and stays down for the longest time wins the competition.
Yang Yun, an applicant from a local Chinese Medicine College, dived to a depth of 4 metres on her first trial. “Maybe I was too nervous, and my legs had sudden cramps,” she explained. “I never dive into the water so deep and so cold. I was so nervous then.
When I was choking with water and plummeting to the bottom, a sudden force pushed me out of the water,” said Yang, who swam to the bank and was rescued by other competitors.
An activity organiser said the beluga, Mila, is very familiar with humans and she spotted the problem first.
“We didn’t notice the problem until we saw Mila holding the diver’s leg with her mouth and pushing her out of the water,” said the organiser.
Schoolgirl angler nets record catch that’s twice her size and weight
There should only have been one winner. On the riverbank was Jessica Wanstall, 4ft 10in tall weighing less than six stone (84lb) and something of a tiddler among anglers.
In the river was a monster, a near 9ft catfish that hit the scales at a record 13st 8lb (193lb).
But despite its size and whiskery age, the fish was no match for the skills of 11-year-old Jessica who waged a 20-minute battle to land her prize.
Jessica, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip with her father to the Ebro River in North-East Spain. She said: ‘I didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw the photos afterwards. I look tiny next to it.
‘My dad thought it was going to be a small one and I told him it didn’t feel small when I picked up the rod. It was really hard work pulling it in and my arms turned to jelly.
‘My dad helped lift it on to the bank and I just laughed when I saw it. It was massive.’
Her father Mark, a 49-year-old engineer, helped return the catfish to the river after his daughter’s triumph was photographed.
According to the International Game Fish Association, Jessica has set a world record for a freshwater fish caught by an angler aged 16 and under.
‘Her catfish easily outweighs the previous record – a 120lb Nile perch caught at Murchison Fall, Uganda, in July 2000,’ a spokesman said.
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