A 15-pound sea lion pup, the first born at the Denver Zoo since 1993, can now be seen by visitors to the zoo’s Northern Shores area.
The pup, the offspring of mother, Luci, and father, Nick, was born June 13 and has thrilled the zoo staff with her energy.
“We have a very vocal pup…as she likes to make sure mom knows exactly where she is at all times,” BJ Schoeberl, the curator of large mammals, said in a news release. “This is common behavior, but we are asking the public not to mimic this sound around the sea lion pool. We don’t want to confuse this first-time mom.”
The zoo said Luci has been a very attentive mother.
Luci was born in Orlando, Fla. at Sea World in 2001 and came to the Denver Zoo two years later. Nick came to the zoo from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach in 2008.
The pup, who has yet to be named, will share space with the zoo’s other sea lions when she becomes more mobile.
Although pups can see and vocalize at birth, they don’t learn to swim for two or three weeks, the zoo said.
Other sea lions at the zoo are Pam, Bismarck and Gidget. Gidget is a television personality who helps pick the winner of Denver Broncos football games on 9News.
The California sea lions are found along the western coast of North America.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
