Pittsburgh Zoo's northern elephant seal Ellie Mae dies

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium's beloved northern elephant seal Ellie Mae has died.

In a post on Facebook on Tuesday , the zoo said Ellie Mae, one of its "most unique residents," died.

Ellie Mae ended up at the zoo after she was rescued in 2017 after being found beached and malnourished in California. Veterinarians said she could not hunt in the wild, according to the Facebook post, and Ellie Mae was brought to the zoo.

"Ellie Mae was a special member of our Zoo family, as she was one of only two northern elephant seals under human care," the Facebook post said on Tuesday. "The Zoo's husbandry and Animal Health teams offered the highest quality care during her years with us, but unfortunately, her preexisting conditions left her in a compromised state."

The zoo went on to say that Ellie Mae "would not have survived her initial setbacks in the wild without human intervention. The Zoo is honored to have given Ellie Mae a second chance."

Officials are asking people to share their memories of Ellie Mae on social media.

"Gonna miss Ellie Mae....loved teaching the zoo camp kids about her story of survival. Gonna miss her a bunch," Adam Klingensmith wrote in the comments.

In February, leaders are the zoo brought in grief counselors for staff after the deaths of five animals.

"We're really experiencing profound sadness at this moment," Zoo president and CEO Dr. Jeremy Goodman said in February. "Our staff's wellbeing is one of the things we're most concerned with right now."