Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium welcomed a new member into its marine family last month: a California sea lion pup. Already, Pepper is a spicy and playful pup, said Jen DeGroot, curator of marine mammals and birds at the zoo.

Giant rats sound like something to be scared of, perhaps. But the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, thinks quite the opposite about the African giant pouched rats it just put on display. The rodents are billed as "hero rats."