Antarctic sea lion makes rare appearance on Rio's iconic Ipanema Beach

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A sea lion from Antarctica made a rare and unexpected visit to Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Ipanema Beach on Wednesday, an unusual sight for this time of year.

The animal was first spotted resting on the sand, prompting the Fire Department's Maritime Rescue Group to secure the area. A specialized rescue team later arrived to assess the situation.

Rescue officials ident