12:29 PM PDT on Monday, July 25, 2005

By ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff

A blind but spirited elephant seal who was a favorite of zoo staff and many zoo visitors, died unexpectedly Sunday night at the Oregon Zoo, officials said.

kgw.com/Ore. Zoo photo

Mira and a keeper at the Oregon Zoo

Mira was being treated for an eye condition, not for any life-threatening sickness, according to zoo officials.

The young female seal came to the Oregon Zoo in 2002 after being found stranded on a northern California Beach at the age of six months.

Veterinarians found that her retinas were underdeveloped and decided she could not be returned to the wild.

North Coast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City, Calif. approached Oregon Zoo officials about housing the seal.

"We talked about it, did some research, and after visiting the animal, decided she would make a great addition to the zoo," said Chris Pfefferkorn, general curator.

Mira lived in the zoo's Steller Cove exhibit with two Steller's sea lion companions.

Caring for a blind animal required marine life keepers to adjust their regular feeding and training practices. For example, noise-making beads were added to their target-training pole and food was placed in Mira's mouth rather than tossed toward her.

"We had to think acoustically rather than visually," said JoEllen Marshall, senior marine life keeper at the zoo.

Marshall and other marine life keepers named the seal.

"The scientific name of the elephant seal is Mirounga angustirostris,” said Marshall. "We got creative and came up with Mira."

Ironically, keepers later learned that Mira in Spanish means "look" -- and she couldn't.

"Mira was an awesome animal to work with," said Marine Life Keeper Karen Rifenbury. "We learned a lot not only about elephant seals, but also about working with an animal with special needs. She was more responsibility because of her special needs, but it was a pleasure."

Keepers said that even though she was blind, she knew exhibit and holding areas very well, better than many other animals. She didn't let blindness slow her down.

"You put your heart in these animals and it's tough when you lose them," Rifenbury said.