California mammal center needs new home for sea lion

That isn't the main reason he has to leave though. The center is a hospital, not a hotel, and they've done all they can for him except find him a new home. If the search doesn't succeed soon, he will have to be euthanized.

Big Guy was found on the beach in Santa Monica on Feb. 6, 2010, with wounded eyes and cuts on his mouth. No one knows if he was in a fight with another animal or attacked by a human.

Care Center veterinarian Lauren Palmer said he was gentle and she thought she could find a zoo or aquarium to take him. She's been looking for a year.

He weighed about 450 pounds then and has put on weight, center spokeswoman Jill Romano said.

The center, located in San Pedro, about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, has 70 animals. Big Guy has been there the longest and eats the most, Romano said.

He can't see to find food, so returning him to the ocean is not an option, she explained.