Archie the seal, one of the Aquarium's most beloved animals, died over the weekend after a brief stomach illness.

At the ripe old age of 38, the equivalent of 114 seal years, he was believed to be the oldest male seal of his species in captivity anywhere in the world.

He fathered three pups over the years, Pebbles, Calico and Ariel, all of whom are still at Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo.

Born on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Archie joined the BAMZ in 1976 and has long been a favourite of visitors to the facility.

Said BAMZ principal curator and veterinarian, Ian Walker: "Over the years, children have grown up and returned to visit Archie with their own kids. He was a very popular member of the BAMZ family and he will be sadly missed. Our aquarists are very passionate about the animals under their care and are understandably saddened by his passing."

Dr. Walker added: "Given his age, the acute illness progressed very rapidly. Male harbour seals generally live between 15 and 30 years, so although his death was unexpected, he had enjoyed an impressively long life at BAMZ. He had great a innings!"

As well as being a popular figure and the patriarch of Bermuda's seal family Archie was also famous for undergoing pioneering surgery.

In 2006 one of his claw-like nails broke and an infection was subsequently discovered in his right flipper.

It was decided that his flipper would have to be amputated, however giving seals anaesthetics poses a risk as they can go into cardiac arrest.

Added to that, there was no information available on the appropriate drugs for such amputations and surgery on an animal of Archie's impressive age brought problems.

However the community rallied around him. Some of the drugs used during the operation came from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, while the Regiment donated a stretcher. Scores of volunteers also streamed forward to help keep an eye on the 200-pound patient as he started out on the road to recovery.

At the time keepers told The Royal Gazette the operation was almost certainly the first of its kind carried out on an Atlantic harbour seal like Archie.

Yesterday Dr. Walker pointed out that Archie was among many elderly animals at BAMZ. That fact, he said, underscores the good health and care the Zoo's collection receives,

He said: "The new animal care centre which is now being built at BAMZ, with its hospital and quarantine areas, will allow for the better care of our ageing collection, as well as the introduction of a new generation of animals to BAMZ."