AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Proud Sea Lion Mom Shows Off Her New Pup in These Adorable Pictures From the Zoo

Calli, the 11-year-old sea lion gave birth on June 26; mother and pup are bonding and doing well

Beth Py-Lieberman

Senior Editor

June 30, 2016

The Zoo confirmed Calli was pregnant on April 20 and had been conducting ultrasounds to monitor the progress of the pregnancy. Jacqueline Conrad

The father of the new pup is the 8-year-old male Jetty Jacqueline Conrad

For the first time in 32 years, the Smithsonian's National Zoo’s celebrated the arrival of a sea lion pup. Jacqueline Conrad

Born June 26 to 11-year-old mother Calli, keepers watched the birth in an non-public area and continue to closely monitor the pup. Jacqueline Conrad

Calli and pup are now bonding and keepers do not yet know the sex of the animal. Jacqueline Conrad

Calli and Jetty, the female and the male sea lions at the National Zoo, had a pup on Sunday, June 26. Calli is in private confinement just now and keepers are cautiously optimistic about the animal's well-being, reporting it to be "nursing, moving and vocalizing well."

This is the Zoo's first sea lion birth in 32 years.

Mother and pup are not being disturbed and so there is no news yet on whether the new baby is male or female.

All the other adult sea lions, including the father Jetty and two unrelated females—Summer and Sydney—are housed nearby in an adjacent holding area, close enough to see and smell the new arrival, but unable to disturb it.

Keepers are waiting for Calli to indicate that she is ready to introduce her new pup to the colony.

Earlier this month the birth of a California sea lion, which in the wild ranges up and down the west coast of North America from Baja, Mexico to Vancouver, British Columbia, was recorded on video at the Utica Zoo in upstate New York. The mother delivered its male pup at 8:30 p.m., on June 22, 2016.

The National Zoo says that if all goes well, its new pup will go on view later this summer.