A lion cub (R) is pictured next to a seven-day-old rare white lion cub in their enclosure at the Belgrade Zoo April 26, 2011. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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A lion cub (R) is pictured next to a seven-day-old rare white lion cub in their enclosure at the Belgrade Zoo April 26, 2011. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
White lion babies Niza and Nero look at the photographer on April 20, 2011 at the Serengeti animal park in Hodenhagen, northwestern Germany. The twins were raised by hand after they were not accepted by their mother. AFP PHOTO JOCHEN LUEBKE
A polar bear goes out of the water at the Amneville zoo, eastern France. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN
Toronto Star Picture Editor Wanda Goodwin shares this delightful set of pictures of Gracie, a harbor seal and her newborn pup. Gracie, a wild-caught rescue seal, arrived at the Albuquerque BioPark in 2004 after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head which caused significant eyesight loss.
Photos; Kari Vidmar, Katie Mast, Lynn Tupa / Courtesy ABQ BioPark
BioPark staff were concerned that her impaired eyesight might be a problem in motherhood, but Gracie relies on her other senses to communicate.
On April 13, eight-year old Gracie delivered the first seal pup to be born at the BioPark. Keepers arrived in the morning to find the 20 lb. newborn and her mother bonding well in the birthing pool.
The pup will remain off exhibit with her mother in the birthing pool until able to eat solid food. Visitors can see the baby on a looping video display at the exhibit.
BioPark staff observed no mating between Gracie and the father, Oakley, a 21 year-old harbor seal donated to the BioPark in 1992. They were delighted when an ultrasound revealed Gracie’s weight-gain was due to pregnancy.
“Seals use scent and vocalization, so we’re finding that her eyesight is not an issue at all,” said Lynn Tupa, Zoo Manager.
Usually after nursing, they play in the pool together.
The pup is so cute. She nurses often and communicates with mom constantly, so there is a lot of vocalization.
The Zoo will hold a naming competition on Mother’s Day. Zoo visitors will be able to vote on their favorite name from options selected by keepers.
Fans of the BioPark’s Facebook page, "http://www.facebook.com/abqbiopark" will also be able to vote on the name.
A flamingo bird rests his head in feathers at its enclosure at the Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich April 17, 2011. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
A two weeks old giraffe baby is pictured in his enclosure at the Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich April 17, 2011. The female giraffe was born on April 5, 2011. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
A European hare (Lepus europaeus) sits on a field near Reitwein, eastern Germany, on April 9, 2011. AFP PHOTO PATRICK PLEUL
One of four White Tiger cubs plays with a photographer at the Safari-Park Stukenbrock in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany, Tuesday, April 19, 2011. The rare cubs were born on Valentine's day in February. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Wikie (R), a killer whale, swims with her calf in Marineland aquatic park in Antibes, southeastern France, April 18, 2011. Wikie, who was artificially inseminated at the aquatic park by a killer whale donor from San Diego, gave birth last month to a female calf after an 18-month period of gestation. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Aurora, a one-year-old female polar bear cub, plays in a swimming pool which was filled with water for the first time this spring, at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, April 14, 2011. Two female wild polar bear cubs were found in Russia's Taimyr Peninsula on the Arctic Ocean coast in May 2010 and were later housed at the zoo in Krasnoyarsk. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
