The nearly 700-pound sea lion was found a year ago in Manhattan Beach before he moved to the zoo in May. Buddy was emaciated and completely blind, which meant he couldn't hunt or defend himself in the wild.
The Marine Mammal Care Center of Los Angeles looked after Buddy for more than 10 months and the L.A. Zoo stepped in to take care of him. The zoo hasn't had a California sea lion in almost eight years.
To learn more about Buddy, watch Anabel Munoz's full report in the video above.