New England Aquarium welcomes ‘Bear'

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) – A 450-pound fur seal has joined the New England Aquarium’s New Balance Marine Mammal Center. “Bear” is the largest northern fur seal to join the aquarium’s recently-opened New Balance Foundation Mammal Center. There are only 15 northern fur seals on exhibit in American zoos and aquariums. Northern fur seals are found in the frigid waters of the north Pacific and have the second thickest fur in the world. Because of the value of their fur, they were nearly hunted in extinction in the 1800s. Their population is currently listed as vulnerable. Click here for more information. Baranov recently arrived from the Mystic Aquarium, where he had been staying during construction.