Milwaukee County Zoo: Harbor seal born on May 24
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Zoo announced Wednesday, June 8 the birth of a harbor seal. The pup was born on Tuesday, May 24.
The female seal pup was born to mother, Cossette, and father, Ringo. This marks the first pup for Cossette, and keepers report she is doing great, bonding with the pup and nursing it. This is the sixth pup for Ringo, who is about 44 years old, and was born in the wild.
The pup was born on land and was swimming after 30 minutes. Shortly after the pup was born, keepers separated 2-year-old male, Bosco, to give the pup time to bond with mom and learn how to nurse. In the beginning, Bosco was very curious and wanted to follow mom and the pup closely in the water. At times, his curiosity interrupted the pup trying to nurse, according to the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Within 4 to 6 weeks, the pup will be weaned and taught to eat fish, which will be hand-fed by keepers.
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In the wild, harbor seals live along the temperate and Arctic marine coastline of the Northern Hemisphere and have the widest distribution of any seal species. They can dive to depths of 500 feet, but depths of up to 1,460 have been recorded, remaining submerged for up to 30 minutes at a time.