On December 12, 2016, Seneca Park Zoo announced that their sea lion pup, Sunny, had died. Sunny been born in June, so this came as a great shock to both the zoo and the community. As sad as this was, there was even more pain because two of the zoo's other sea lions, Marina (Sunny's mother) and Boomerang, died within the four months prior to Sunny's death.

Along with the deaths came great controversy. Many people were infuriated that three of the zoo's four sea lions died within four months of each other. "How?" "Why?" "What happened?" Well, Marina had an issue regarding epilepsy. This was likely caused by a gunshot wound to the head that made her lose an eye when she was still in the wild. Seneca Park Zoo was part of the effort to save her after she was shot. Boomerang died of heart disease, and it was not a type of heart disease that they would have seen while he was alive. They did not know that this was the cause until there was a microscopic examination after his death. Sunny's cause of death is yet to be determined, but there is an independent agency (not affiliated with Seneca Park Zoo) that is doing a thorough examination to determine it.

Many people were quick to grab their torches and pitchforks to attack the zoo. They were pointing fingers at the zoo and saying things like, "This is why zoo's are terrible," and, "All zoos should be shut down!" But here is what these people do not understand: if animals like Marina were left in the wild, they would have been dead a long time ago. Marina lived to be seven years old. The odds of this happening in the wild with her gunshot wound are very slim. Sea lions should live to be 20-30 years old, however, it must be realized that many of the animals in captivity were rescued and would not have lived to be 20 or 30 in the wild. In fact, their lives were likely extended by being rescued.

I am a strong advocate for zoos and I believe that what they do is for the benefit of the animals involved. Zoos often work in conjunction with organizations that help breed and repopulate certain species. If it was not for this conjoined effort, I am 99 percent sure that we would see, or rather not see, more extinct species than we already do. I know that in the past, zoos were merely forms of entertainment and the animals were not treated well. However, this is no longer the case. The zoos of today are designed to help animals who can no longer thrive on their own in the wild.

If you don't take anything else away from this, please keep this in mind: do not base accusations on one situation--instead, do your research. Look into the mission of the zoo and the foundations it works with. You might find out that sometimes things just happen.