Baby seal born at Bristol Zoo Gardens

A baby seal is making a splash at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

At just one month old the South American fur seal pup is still small and just learning to swim. It is already proving a hit with visitors as it can be seen basking on the rocks soaking up the sun, next to its mother.

Keepers have not yet named the pup as it is too young to be sexed. It joins the Zoo’s five other fur seals at home in the Zoo’s £2 million Seal & Penguin Coasts exhibit – Otari the bull seal; adult female cows, Mary and Nina; and youngsters Quito and Torro, born in 2007.

Rob Goodchild, head of presentations at Bristol Zoo said: “The pup is bright, active and suckling well, it is a fantastic addition to our seal family.”

He added: “The pup will stay close to its mother for now, but it won’t be long before it starts to play and explore its new surroundings.”

Pups weigh around 17lbs (8kg) at birth, after a gestation period of nearly a year. Bulls grow to an average length of 6ft (1.9m) and a weight of 348lb (158kg), cows being considerably smaller at 4.5ft (1.4m) and a weight of only 110lb (50kg).

The pup will feed from its mother until it is six months old, and will then be fed fish that they would normally find in the wild, such as squid and herring.

Like all fur seals, South American fur seals were hunted almost to extinction for their warm fur, leather and oil. In 1991 hunting was banned but other threats still face the species, such as the reduction of fish stocks that the seals depend on, as a result of large-scale industrial fishing. Their natural enemies in the open ocean are sharks and killer whales.
Fur seals have double-layer coats. One to keep them warm and another to keep them dry. The outside coat consists of long guard hairs, and beneath these hairs there are much smaller, finer hairs that help insulate the skin and keep the seal warm in the water.

Bristol Zoo’s Seal & Penguin Coasts was opened by Dr David Bellamy in 1999. It was designed to mimic seals’ natural habitats, containing saltwater kept clean using a sophisticated, chemical-free filtration unit. An underwater viewing tunnel means visitors can observe the seals from above or below the water.

For more information about Bristol Zoo Gardens, or to find out how to adopt a fur seal or any other animal, visit the zoo website at www.bristolzoo.org.uk or phone 0117 974 7300.

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For press enquiries please contact Bristol Zoo Press Office:
Lucy Parkinson, T: 0117 974 7306, E: lparkinson [at] bristolzoo [dot] org [dot] uk
Vanessa Hollier, T: 0117 974 7309, E: vhollier [at] bristolzoo [dot] org [dot] uk

About South American fur seals

• Scientific name: Arctocephalus australis.
• Carnivore, feeding on fish, crustaceans and squid.
• They live in the ocean and on the coasts of South America.
• Fur seals belong to the same family as sea lions.
• They are extremely territorial during the breeding season.
• Fur seals are very vocal and make different noises for play-fighting, warning neighbours or attracting a mate.

About Bristol Zoo Gardens

• Bristol Zoo Gardens is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day.
• The Zoo is an Education and Conservation Charity and relies on the income from visitors to support its work.
• The Zoo is involved with over one hundred co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species.
• It employs 140 full and part-time staff to care for the animals and run a successful visitor attraction to support its conservation and education work.
• Bristol Zoo Gardens supports – through finance and skill sharing - over 10 projects in the UK and abroad that conserve and protect some of the world’s most endangered species.
• Bristol Zoo Gardens is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. BIAZA represents more than 90 member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.