Friday, July 13, 2012

Rare Fur Seal Pup Born at the Aquarium




Ursula and Isaac Are Pleased to Announce the
Birth of Their First Northern Fur Seal Pup!

8-Pound Pup Is First Birth in Aquarium’s Breeding Program for Rare Species


 











BOSTON—Babies often arrive at the most inopportune times! Tuesday night just before midnight, the Aquarium’s overnight engineer, while on her rounds, noticed blood on the floor of the seal holding area. She realized that Ursula, a sweet 14-year-old Northern fur seal, might be in labor. She immediately made a phone call, and shortly thereafter, several marine mammal trainers and veterinary staff arrived. They found Ursula in a corner with her newborn pup, which was searching for its mother’s nipples. With some maternal direction and repositioning, the dark brown, 8- to 9-pound pup finally found mother’s milk and settled down for some nursing and bonding. Kathy Streeter, the Aquarium’s marine mammal curator, was thrilled with Ursula’s maternal instincts and care, particularly since this was her first pup.


Click to see larger image.  


The birth was significant for more than its obvious feel-good aspects: It also marked the first birth in the Aquarium’s dedicated program for rare Northern fur seals. The newborn is only the 13th Northern fur seal to be found in an American aquarium or zoo. Seven of those animals make the New England Aquarium’s new, harbor-side pinniped exhibit their home. Several years ago as the Aquarium planned for the construction of its $11 million New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, staff made a strategic decision to gather Northern fur seals from around the country and start a dedicated breeding program.

Among those brought in were Ursula, a bright, young, 90-pound adult female from the New York Aquarium and Isaac, an athletically impressive, 300 pound adolescent male from the Seattle Aquarium. Isaac is now an adult with a trademark fur Mohawk and tips the scales at 400 pounds plus.

URSULA AND HER PUP WILL NOT BE VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR A WHILE AS THEY ENJOY SOME QUIET BONDING TIME BEHIND THE SCENES. 

Sometime later this summer, they will join the rest of an increasingly youthful seal and sea lion colony. The unnamed pup will join Leu (pronounced Lou), a rescued 1-year-old male fur seal, and Zoe and Sierra, a pair of 2-year-old, female sea lions who are the subject of the Aquarium’s popular summer marketing campaign called “Mischief."


 Click to see larger image.

Northern fur seals have the second thickest fur of any animal and can be found throughout the chilly waters of the north Pacific but most commonly off the coast of Alaska. They were once hunted to the brink of extinction for their pelts but have become a conservation success story. Visit this page for more information about the species.

Visit the Marine Mammal Trainers Blog for video of the newborn.

11 comments:

  1. Congratulations!! Beautiful photos of Ursula and her pup!

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  2. The very first baby (born in summer 1998 - my last summer as a docent) that I ever had the privilege of working with at the New York Aquarium when I was a Sea Cliffs volunteer, is a mom! That little fur seal pup made me the zoo keeper I am today. I'm so proud of Ursula! Congrats to her and Isaac and all the staff at the New England Aquarium!

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  3. Wow! The seal pup is so cute and adorable,thanks for sharing this good stuff.

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  4. Too cute for words! Congratulations

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  5. aww absolutely amazing!

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  6. The pup is so cute!!!!! I am happy for Ursula and that the pup came out healthy.

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  7. Congratulations to Ursula. "Sealed" with a kiss.

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  8. I think he should be named Midnight.

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  9. awwwww... he is sooooo CUTE!!!!! ;D congrats NE Aquarium, especially to Ursula and Isaac!!! can't wait to sea the new pup when he's ready!!!!

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  10. Can you provide us with where we can find an update? We visited the Aquarium from Tucson early July of 2012. My daughter and I share a birthday on July 10. , the pup's birthday so the date of the birthday thrilled us...

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    1. Well, happy belated birthday to you two! Thanks for checking on Flaherty, so glad that you were able to visit last summer. He just celebrated his birthday, too. You can watch how he celebrated on the News Blog here. http://news.neaq.org/2013/07/happy-birthday-flaherty.html

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