Photo of the Week
by Freeman F. & Mary Daniels Brown
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Week of June 11, 2000
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This suckling California sea lion pup was photographed at the St. Louis Zoo on June 11, 2000. This two-day old California sea lion pup, who was learning to move around on its own, had no trouble focusing in on what's most important. Weighing between four and five pounds, the pup, whose sex hasn't yet been determined, is the first birth at the zoo's sea lion basin in eight years. The mother, Hide, is 10 years old, about twice the normal age of most first-time sea lion mothers. Despite her lack of experience, Hide is nuzzling and nursing her baby and making maternal sounds (which sound like bellows to human ears). The pup's father, Roland, is 23 years old and a retired veteran of the zoo's sea lion show.