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Video and gallery: Sea lions join Dudley Zoo family

It is bonjour to Marina and Tania – two sea lions who will make the Black Country their new home.

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The pair of Patagonian sea lions have arrived from the south of France to join the colony at Dudley Zoo.

The two females Marina, aged 19, and 18-year-old Tania came from the African Safari zoo, in Plaisance du Touch, near Toulouse.

And they will find a recognisable face in 18-year-old Deisy, who came from the same zoo earlier this year. The girls, both born in Uruguay but having been in France since they were just a few months old, made the 48-hour journey in an air-conditioned vehicle and arrived safely early on Friday morning.

Dudley Zoo's registrar and research co-ordinator, Dr David Beeston, said he was delighted with the new arrivals.

"Female sea lions in particular do like to hang about in larger groups so Marina and Tania will be wonderful company for Cleo and Deisy," he said.

"At first the females will all stay together in one pool but eventually, after a slow introduction, we hope to connect our two pools so the four females and male, Oba, can have the run of the whole enclosure."

Zoo keepers said they were looking forward to getting to know Marina and Tania and to discover their personalities and characters. The zoo's two pools are connected by a salt pool and can be sectioned off to separate them.

The sea lion pool has recently undergone specialist renovation work to repair the wavy Tecton den, ramp and diving board, using original shuttering techniques.

The pool is one of 12 modernist buildings constructed between 1935 and the zoo's opening in May 1937.

Designed by Russian architect Berthold Lubetkin and awarded World Monument status in 2009, the concrete buildings make up the largest single collection of Tectons in the world.

Senior keeper for hoofstock and carnivores, Sarah Evans, said the two arrivals have fitted swimmingly into their new home. However, Deisy is in a bit of a sulk that she is not getting as much attention as before.

"They've been absolutely brilliant and settled in a lot better than Deisy did when she first arrived," Sarah said.

Keepers are still getting to grips with what tricks the two newcomers can do.

They can already 'talk', wave and nod their heads on command. Even though the languages of the commands are different, the gestures are the same, which has made things easier, Mrs Evans said.

"Even though they came from France they understand pretty much all the signals.

"They're all the same and all the training is also the same."

Visitors have welcomed Tania and Marina with open arms.

All the sealions are fed three times a day.

"Two more sealions means more work for us all but it's also more company for the girls, which is great," Mrs Evans added.

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