Weedy sea dragon gives birth at SeaWorld Orlando

A weedy sea dragon has given birth to his first few baby sea dragons, SeaWorld Orlando announced Wednesday.

This is considered a rare event, as there have only been three other aquariums in the United States to successfully breed weedy sea dragons, according to SeaWorld officials.

SeaWorld said almost 100 eggs were laid by the female in June and have since been incubated by the male. The weedy sea dragon is closely related to the sea horse.

The sea dragon is a protected animal found naturally in tropical coastal waters of south and west Australia. Due to human invasion and pollution, the numbers of sea dragons that live in their natural environment have drastically dropped since the 1980s, SeaWorld officials said. The weedy sea dragons can normally be seen at SeaWorld in the aquarium exhibit inside Manta.