Sea lions' eyes hurt by Whipsnade Zoo water

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-23494001

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Sea lions at a zoo in Bedfordshire suffered eye problems after a new water filtration system was installed.

Whipsnade Zoo's five Californian sea lions had been temporarily housed at London Zoo while their pool was refurbished.

But when they returned the increased chlorine levels hurt their eyes, an inspection report from March 2012 has revealed.

Whipsnade Zoo said the problem was "quickly rectified".

A report on the zoo, obtained by a Freedom of Information request by the Independent on Sunday, said a sea lion called Salt had shown an "adverse reaction" due to the increased chlorine levels.

The inspector said the sea lions had returned from London Zoo before the filtration system could be "run fully".

A zoo spokesperson said: "Everything is absolutely fine with our sea lion pool and their eyesight now."

Keepers at the zoo near Dunstable spotted the problem and improvements were made to the filtration system, the spokesperson said.

Since then, the sea lions have been checked on a weekly basis.