When she was found off the coast of California four years ago, the fur seal that’s come to be known as Ziggy Star was thin and debilitated.

And though a professional marine mammal rescue team took her in to care for her, Ziggy continued to decline. "I wouldn't have given her next week," says Ane Uriarte, a neurosurgeon at Tufts University's Cumming Veterinary Medical Center, who led a recent first-of-its kind brain surgery on the seal.

Now, Ziggy is eating a full diet and is beginning to gain weight again.

"Recently I've allowed her to go swimming," says Jen Flower, the chief clinical vet at Connecticut's Mystic Aquarium, who oversees Ziggy and the other animals' care.

The seal had been kept on land