Two ringed seals from Alaska are SeaWorld San Diego’s newest rescues and they will serve as ambassadors for their species, the park announced Monday.

The seals – Mavsaq and Taku – received care from the Alaska SeaLife Center following their rescue. The center transferred the animals to SeaWorld San Diego after they were found to be non-releasable.

Guests at the park will soon be able to see Mavsaq and Taku during select times throughout the day at the Wild Arctic exhibit.

Mavsaq was found out of his habitat on an oil field in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea in December 2025, while Taku was abandoned and found lethargic and lying on a rusty pipe on Dutch Harbor’s rocky shore in 2018.

SeaWorld San Diego and the Alaska SeaLife Center are the only two facilities in North America where the public can see ringed seals up close. The species is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

“We are glad to partner with Alaska Sea Life Center to provide a home for these ringed seals at Wild Arctic,” Eric Otjen, vice president of zoological operations at SeaWorld San Diego, said in a statement. “We are very pleased with their adjustment so far. Our team has the expertise and decades of experience with this species and is excited to introduce these ringed seals to our resident ringed seal.”

Mavsaq and Taku will join fellow ringed seal Natchek, also rescued from Alaska as an abandoned three-month-old pup. Found in Barrow, Alaska in July 1996, Natchek was also rehabilitated at Alaska SeaLife Center before joining SeaWorld San Diego’s Wild Arctic exhibit later that year, according to a statement from the park.

Since arriving at SeaWorld, Natchek has “contributed to important scientific research,” including a study of ringed seal hearing abilities at UC Santa Cruz.

“Ringed seals are an incredible species that few people ever have the opportunity to see up close,” said Kristen Steinmetze, husbandry curator at the Alaska SeaLife Center. “Through their participation in voluntary research and the connections they’ve made with our guests here at the ASLC, they’ve helped us learn more about their species while inspiring people to care about Arctic wildlife.”

The species is the smallest and most common Arctic seal and derive its name from the small, light-colored circles, or rings, scattered throughout the darker hair on their backs. The pinnipeds reside in arctic waters and are commonly associated with ice floes and pack ice.