A Sea Lion Habitat is being added to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Photo courtesy Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Soon, you won’t have to visit San Francisco to experience the fun of barking sea lions. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is expanding and adding a brand new sea lion habitat, set to open in 2019.

The habitat is expected to fit into the existing footprint of the zoo and ground is planned to be broken this fall.

“Although it’s too early to have a detailed layout of the habitat, it will have the same spaciousness and naturalistic feeling as some of the Zoo’s other habitats, such as Polar Frontier and Heart of Africa,” the Zoo said in a statement.

“We are excited about this new habitat because sea lions are very social and physical animals; we know our visitors will enjoy and learn from them,” said Columbus Zoo and Aquarium president and CEO Tom Stalf. “Once the habitat opens in 2019, Columbus Zoo animal trainers will show guests how they work with the sea lions to keep the animals healthy, and explain how guests can help protect sea lions – even here from Ohio.”

The new habitat is being built with funds from voters who passed the last levy and from contributions from donors.

Seven California sea lions that will live in the habitat currently reside at an interim home in Florida. The Columbus Zoo was chosen by Changfeng Ocean World, a marine park in Shanghai, China, as the new home for the group of sea lions. The seven, two females and five males, have lived together at the marine park for almost ten years and their social structure is important for their wellbeing. The Columbus Zoo’s ability to build a habitat with the capacity to keep the group together was a deciding factor in the relocation.

For more information, visit ColumbusZoo.org.