Caring for Animals with Impairments: Ronin the California sea lion

Ronin was rescued on the coast of California, alone and significantly undersized for a sea lion her age. She struggled to eat, and rehabilitators discovered Ronin was born without salivary glands, making swallowing incredibly difficult. Without the ability to feed herself, she would not survive in the wild.
Thanks to caring wildlife rehabilitators and keepers, Ronin the California sea lion got a second chance at life. With practice -and patience- Ronin learned how to swallow. Now, Ronin eats as readily as any other sea lion.
In this video, keeper Ashley Graham demonstrates regular husbandry training with Ronin. This video is part of our larger feature on caring for animals with impairments. LEARN MORE: nationalzoo.si....