Sparky the Sea Lion and friends get $21 million new home at Como

May 29—When the Como Zoo's star performer Sparky the Sea Lion made his annual trek from his winter indoor home to the St. Paul zoo's Seal Island, he had to be crated up and hauled there. It was, obviously, a stressful annual endeavor.

Sparky and his pinniped pals would spend the summer swimming in a freshwater moat that circled a mound of rocks in Seal Island. Yes, freshwater. And yes, sea lions and seals are saltwater creatures. There was no shade for the animals or the visitors who have been watching Sparky's antics for more than 65 years.

Not any more.

Como Harbor, a huge new exhibit space smack dab in the heart of the zoo, opens June 3 with underwater tunnels to take Sparky and Co. from their indoor shelter to sparkling new saltwater pools with shade, rocks, a performance stage and plenty of places for visitors to watch their underwater spins, swims, flips and floats.

Kids can get right up to the outdoor pool to watch the sea lions swim (often on their backs) through the clear pool walls. It fits Como Zoo's "nose-to-nose with the animals" reputation, says Michelle Furrer, director of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory. The water is heated and cooled, so the seals and sea lions can be outdoors year-round.

Visitors can also go into an enclosure to get a closer look at the underwater activity (much like the viewing area for the zoo's polar bears). "It's a beautiful underwater view," said senior zookeeper Allison Jungheim, "to see the water dapple in the sun." It's also a good place to watch how the sea lions push through the water, she adds, using their tail fins, which is different from the way the seals swim.

There's a new restaurant with poolside table seating and the amphitheater seating is expanded and shaded.

The aquatics building has been updated, with new tanks and exhibits, an interactive area with video and views of the pinnipeds' indoor habitats and their penguin neighbors. (Check out the kiddie pools where sea lion Cici likes to relax in warm water. Staff call it "Cici's Spa.") Eventually, the facelift will include a view into the "back of the house," where zookeepers treat animals and do rehab and conservation work.

Como Zoo staff work on conservation projects throughout the United States, Jungheim says. That includes species-saving conservation like recently raising more than 1,000 Wyoming Toad tadpoles, which were then placed in oxygenated water, shipped overnight and released near the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge outside Laramie, Wyo. Zoo information says this 1.5-ounce toad is classified as one of the four critically endangered amphibians found in North America and one of the rarest in the world.

A pair of gray seals that recently came to Como will be joining the two harbor seals and four sea lions soon. Gray seals Wally and Stan were rehabbed after they were rescued from the ocean near New Jersey. Since they are nearly blind, they couldn't be returned to the ocean, Jungheim says. One of the seals has a mark on its neck where it was choked by plastic ocean pollution.

The gray seals weigh about 200 pounds now, but will grow to 600 to 800 pounds, Jungheim says. They're also very vocal, she adds.

From monkeys to sea lions

The area where Sparky and friends used to swim at Como was called Seal Island, but it started out as Monkey Island, built in the 1930s as a WPA project. The moat kept the monkeys on the island.

In the 1970s, the monkeys were moved to another place at the zoo and the seals and sea lions swam in the moat. Zookeepers had to cross a retractable bridge to train and feed the animals, which had to be inside the aquatics building for most of the year.

Sparky came to Como as part of a traveling show in the 1950s and became a resident in 1956. The Sparky Show has been a Como tradition ever since, Furrer says, with several different sea lions taking on the name and the performance spotlight over the years.

In the early days, Sparky's show was strictly about entertainment, but "Sparky changed as society changed," said Jackie Sticha, president of Como Friends, a volunteer group that was essential to raising funds for Como Harbor. The zoo's message is now about education and conservation.

"Our goal is to entertain and engage," Furrer said. "Once they fall in love with that animal, they want to know what they can do to protect it — locally and internationally."

Safe harbor

Como Harbor has two pools for the pinnipeds, with underwater tunnels, gates and a ramp that let them move inside and out and be separated for training and feeding, if necessary.

The seals and sea lions are fed and trained three times a day, Jungheim explained. Sea lions eat 10 to 12 pounds of food a day during those three servings. The feeding is part of the pinnipeds' conditioning and health care. Zoo staff train all of the animals at Como, she adds.

Trainers use a clicker (like pet owners use to train dogs and cats), according to Jungheim. During the feeding, zookeepers can do animal husbandry — checking flippers, opening mouths, giving vaccinations and rubbing down the sea lions' glutes. (Yes, sea lions have glutes, the zookeeper says.)

For visitors

Como Harbor was designed to look like a coastal village, Sticha says. Como's display areas are "designed to feel like where the animals came from."

The outdoor cafe, Pier 56 (named to honor the year Sparky came to Como), was funded by Como's food partner, Lancer Hospitality, and will offer grilled burgers, pizza, salads and kids' meal favorites including hot dogs and chicken nuggets.

The amphitheater has seating on wide concrete steps. It will be open all the time for visitors to sit down, not just during Sparky shows, training and feeding.

And there are new bathrooms in Como Harbor that will be open year-round, not requiring shutdown when cold weather arrives.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the zoo still requires that visitors make a reservation for a visit.

Gorillas, seals and polar bears, oh my

Como Harbor is the third major recent renovation at Como Zoo since the start of the 2010s. Polar Bear Odyssey opened in 2010 and Gorilla Forest opened in 2013.

An action plan for the improvements started in the early 2000s, Furrer says. The zoo's first request for funding for Como Harbor was in 2012. The money was approved in 2017.

The Minnesota Legislature gave $15 million. Como Friends, the zoo and conservatory's nonprofit partner, raised the rest of the money needed from individuals, corporations and foundations.

"We've been working on it since 2012," Sticha said. "Seeing it with people in it is the best."

There will be a grand opening and ribbon-cutting at Como Harbor on June 3.

Everybody has a Como story

"There's a lot of love for Como in the community — and a lot of love for Sparky," Sticha said.

School field trips, family reunions and weekend excursions to the zoo often include tours of the adjacent Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, where the Summer Flower Show — with amazing blossoms in purple, magenta and red — continues through Oct. 1. The Japanese Garden is just outside the Conservatory. And the entire 759-acre park includes a golf course (with a restaurant), lake, biking and hiking paths, picnic areas, Como Town amusement park rides, and a pavilion with a restaurant and kayak and paddleboard rentals.

Sticha lives near Como and calls it her back yard. Visitors always get a trip to the zoo.

Jungheim, of course, has stories of the animals she's cared for, but she has a special memory of a Sparky show 18 years ago. That's when her husband, who also works at Como, proposed — during the show.

By the numbers

Pinniped residents at Como Harbor: 2 gray seals, 2 harbor seals and 4 sea lions, including Sparky.

Cost of the project: $21 million — the Minnesota Legislature approved $15 million in public funding in May 2017. Como Friends, Como Park Zoo & Conservatory's nonprofit partner, raised the final funding needed from individuals, corporations and foundations.

Seating in the amphitheater: Same seating capacity as the old theater. "It just depends on how close you want to get, or how many adults as opposed to little kids," said zoo marketing and public relations manager Matt Reinartz, "but I would say 1,200."

Seating at the new outdoor cafe, Pier 56: 42 tables of various sizes, plus benches and railings.

Amount of fish eaten per day by a sea lion: 10 to 12 pounds.

Annual visitors to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory: About 1.9 million annually; it's been as many as 2.1 million.

When the zoo is open: 365 days a year.

COMO HARBOR

— What: New habitat at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Como Harbor (opens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on June 3)

— When: Zoo is open 365 days a year; summer hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday

— Where: 1225 Estabrook Dr., St. Paul

— Admission: Free

— More info: comozooconservatory.org or 651-487-8201

— You should know: Facemasks and reservations are required.