Milwaukee County Zoo's interactive sea lion exhibit needs repairs to stay open. It won't get them.

Ocean Connections, Inc., which manages the interactive seal and sea lion programs at the Milwaukee County Zoo, announced Thursday that it and its animals will be leaving the zoo in early December.

"After over three decades of providing educational seal and sea lion programming ... Ocean Connections will be leaving the Milwaukee County Zoo," Ocean Connections wrote on Facebook Thursday. "This decision has been made after several months of careful consideration and conversations."

The move is the result of one of the "difficult financial decisions" the zoo has to make each year, said Milwaukee County Zoo director of marketing and communications Laura Pedriani. She added that the zoo in October 2022 told Ocean Connections it would be ending the partnership between the organizations, giving Ocean Connections "ample opportunity" to relocate its animals.

The decision, both groups explained, boiled down to a funding issue.

The Ocean Connections statement explained that the current seal and sea lion pool at the zoo is "38 years old and is in need of restoration to remain operational and meet the welfare standards which are essential in housing marine mammals."

The organization added the zoo "decided not to allocate funds to these renovations" and will instead be "retiring" Ocean Connections' facility.

"(T)he cost (of repairing the pool and surrounding facilities) is far more than what the zoo can afford," Pedriani said.

Daily seal and sea lion programs will continue at the zoo through Sunday, Dec. 3. Following this, Ocean Connections' seals and sea lions will be relocated to Ocean Connections sister facilities.

However, this does not mean the zoo will no longer have any seals at all. The zoo's Harbor seal habitat, which is not run by Ocean Connections, will remain open year-round.

Ocean Connections is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works in the fields of science and education to provide homes for marine animals in need and raise awareness about these animals and their conservation. It operates as a vendor on zoo grounds offering interactive performances.

According to its statement, Ocean Connections was founded in Milwaukee and is the only facility in Wisconsin to house California sea lions, a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Zoo to lose interactive sea lion exhibit