Taronga Zoo Sydney is proud to announce the birth of a very cute, very playful Australian sea-lion pup who made her first splash today at her new home at Taronga’s Seal Bay! 
The female Australian sea-lion pup was born during the early morning of Wednesday the 30th of July to experienced Mother Nala and Father Charlie. This is Nala and Charlie’s second pup together, following the successful birth of Torre a male Australian sea-lion pup who was born in late 2018.

‘Weighing in at only 4kg just six weeks ago, the little pup has increased not only in weight but has shown a massive increase in confidence over the past week, she is now constantly swimming and playing in the water, which is the type of progress we would like to see at this age’ says Marine Mammals Unit Supervisor Brad McKenzie. 

‘The pup was actually born a month or so earlier than what we were expecting, Australian sea-lions do this incredible thing called embryonic diapause which is when they can pause their embryo development, so there is about a 3.5 to five months of when the seal pup can be actually be born’ say McKenzie. 

All births at Taronga are considered significant and special moments, but the recent birth of this Australian sea-lion pup is not only incredible news for Taronga and their breeding program but is wonderful news for this native marine species. Australian Sea-lion numbers in the wild, unfortunately, continue to decline due to isolated populations, over-fishing and entanglement in fishing debris. That is why on this special occasion Taronga is calling on the public to help name their latest, but not so tiniest addition with the launch of their Taronga seal pup comp.

The public will get to choose from two names; Amalie which is a tribute to the pup’s late Grandfather and Nala’s Father or Kailani which is of Hawaiian origin and translates to sea and sky. The entry with the most meaningful reason behind their name selection will win a family pass to Taronga valued at $152 and a seal encounter + meet and greet with one of Taronga’s Marine Mammal Keepers. For more information, how to enter and T&C’s simply visit www.taronga.org.au/sealpupcomp 

The pup and her mother Nala can now be seen throughout the day at Taronga Zoo Sydney’s Seal Bay at the Greater Southern Ocean Precinct these spring school holidays, where the pup will be playfully and utterly adorably exploring her new surroundings.