Megan Jones

His new home was the Aquario Municipal de Mendoza.

in a city at the base of the Andes Mountains.

It's around 1,000 kilometres from where Jorge was found and run by the local government in that area, who said returning him to the sea was not considered and the aquarium was the only one capable of receiving him.

At first, he's kept in temporary enclosures.

Then he's moved into a 10,000-litre tank, where he remains for more than 20 years.

His enclosure was built of concrete with a water circulation and filtration system.

It's reported his diet at this time was boiled eggs and beef.

The aquarium say he was given a balanced diet, supplemented with vitamins, and every effort was made to ensure the animal had adequate living conditions.

Jorge quickly became a well-known attraction, described as one of the most beloved characters in the city.

For years, people went to the aquarium to visit him.

But not everyone was happy about seeing Jorge in the tank.

Activists launched a petition calling for his release and for the aquarium's closure.

The campaign was called Liberen a Jorge, or Free Jorge.

Lawyers also started legal action on behalf of Jorge, arguing he was being deprived of a dignified life.

The aquarium said it was looking for alternatives to improve the animal's current conditions.

More than 60,000 people signed the petition and, along with the legal action, led to the mayor of the city of Mendoza announcing the aquarium would close and they'd look at relocating animals, including Jorge, who was considered a senior citizen.

Once Alejandro was called in, he started the evaluations.

They changed his diet and slowly added more salt to the water in his tank.

Then, after a year of testing, he was flown by plane to the aquarium Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires.

His new home was a circular pool with 150,000 litres of saltwater and with a depth of three metres.