WASHINGTON — A new gray seal pup was born at the National Zoo.
The zoo said in a statement that the pup was born Saturday and “appears to be nursing, moving & bonding well” with its mother, Kara.
The pup is a girl and was born at 12:43 a.m. She weighed 37 pounds as of Tuesday.
Zookeepers are watching the pup closely. Her mother is 33 and is the oldest gray seal to give birth at the zoo, officials said. This is the third pup for Kara and Gunther, the 26-year-old father.
The new seal pup does not yet have a name, and zoo officials said they had not decided when or how the pup will be named.
Officials said caretakers are “cautiously optimistic that the pup will thrive, and Kara is caring for her pup without interference.”
The pup will wean and shed its white lanugo coat and a gray and mottled pattern that is common for adult seals will emerge, officials said. Once she is weaned, she will slowly be introduced to the other seals. And she will go on display to the public in the spring.
Zookeepers said they figured Kara was pregnant because her appetite changed and she started to gain weight. Seals have been trained to “voluntarily participate” in ultrasounds and radiographs with veterinarians nearby.
In August, zoo officials confirmed Kara was pregnant.
Like any popular animal at the zoo, the pup’s development will be documented on social media.
Gray seals were on the endangered species list at one point but are now considered a “species of least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, according to the National Zoo.
In the wild, zoo officials said, gray seals can be found in areas ranging from North America to the Baltic Sea.
The zoo said it was recommended to them that Kara and Gunther be bred from a survival plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The plan helps match animals across the country for breeding to maintain a “healthy, genetically diverse and self-sustaining population,” the zoo said in a statement.
