NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Aquarium of Niagara announced that it recently welcomed its newest resident, a three-year-old female harbor seal named Papita!
The aquarium said Papita came from the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) in Seward, Alaska. Papita was first spotted in July 2023 with severe injuries to her body and both eyes, and two residents and the Seldovia Village Tribe helped safely retrieve her and get her to the ASLC.
According to the aquarium, during her time in the ASLC Wildlife Response program, veterinary ophthalmic specialists determined that Papita’s eye injuries had greatly impaired her vision and may have even caused blindness. In December 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated Papita as non-releasable because she would not be able to survive if returned to her natural environment.
"Papita quickly became a beloved part of the Seward community, with thousands tuning into ASLC’s blog and social media posts for updates on her progress," the aquarium said in a release. "In the facility’s public seal habitat, she charmed guests with her curiosity and incredible resilience, using her vibrissae (whiskers) to reveal what her eyes could not. In late 2025, ASLC partnered with the Aquarium of Niagara to explore moving Papita to Niagara Falls to make space for other non-releasable rescued seals."
Papita joins male harbor seals Stryker and Lumiere in the aquarium’s newly renovated outdoor seal habitat, Rescue Harbor. The aquarium said visitors are encouraged to go and see Papita and engage with the updated exhibit, which shares the stories of its non-releasable residents and offers engaging interpretive content related to harbor seals and marine mammal response and rescue efforts.
“It's so important that rescued/non-releasable animals like Papita have a home where they can thrive with their unique needs, not in spite of them. That is why we are thrilled to welcome Papita into our newly improved seal exhibit. Her transformation from a stranded pup with life-changing injuries into a curious and charismatic ambassador for her species demonstrates her incredible resiliency. We’re grateful to the Alaska SeaLife Center for entrusting us with her care, and we can’t wait for our community to fall in love with Papita the way that Seward did.”
