Zoo staff monitored Sally as she freely “explored the area,” he said.

However, her escapade was short-lived. She soon returned “to the familiar surroundings of the pool and the company of the other two sea lions,” Breheny added.

“The water levels have receded, and the animals are contained in their exhibit. No staff or visitors were in danger.”

More than a month’s worth of rain fell Friday across swaths of New York City and Long Island, much of it within a few hours. The downpour prompted an emergency declaration — though no deaths were reported.

The flooding was the worst the city has seen since Hurricane Ida in 2021, when intense downpours killed more than 40 people across the New York region.

New York inundated with worst floods since 2021, but no deaths reported

Despite rumors online, Sally “remained inside the zoo, never breaching the zoo’s secondary perimeter,” Breheny said.

Sally’s escape became the subject of memes and jokes on social media.

“The new Madagascar movie looks sick,” tweeted one observer, in reference to a 2005 children’s movie about the escape to Africa of four Central Park Zoo animals.

“This was not on my 2023 bingo card,” wrote one individual. “At least some New Yorkers are enjoying this storm,” said another.

The NYPD Central Park issued a “zoo update” warning that there were “several videos circulating online about flooding & escaped zoo animals. These videos are misleading & inaccurate,” police said.

“All sea lions & animals are accounted for & safe,” they added.

Breheny in a tweet later thanked the police for “helping to set the record straight!”

The sea lion enclosure is at the heart of Central Park Zoo in Manhattan. The marine mammals can often be seen “sunning themselves or swimming,” according to the zoo’s website.

California sea lions are the only species exhibited in the four WCS parks in New York. The animals are “periodically moved between the parks for breeding to ensure the population is sustainable and genetically healthy,” the zoo said.

California sea lions are native to the West Coast and live in coastal waters and on beaches, docks, buoys and jetties. They are easily trained, playful and intelligent, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and very vocal — making a sound like a barking dog to communicate.

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The females, like Sally, are slender-bodied and are blond to tan in color. They can weigh up to 240 pounds and measure about six feet long. The males weigh up to 700 pounds and can get up to 7½ feet and are mostly dark brown to black. Both generally live between 20 to 30 years and feed mainly on squid, anchovies, mackerel, rockfish and sardines.

“California sea lions are very social on land and in the water,” NOAA said.

Three of the zoos — the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo and Queens Zoo — and New York Aquarium were reopened Saturday, staff said. Prospect Park Zoo remained closed. Collectively, the parks host approximately 4 million visitors each year.

“Animal care staff will continue to monitor the situation through the duration of the weather event,” Breheny added.