Nyíregyháza – Sosto Zoo - A harbour seal was born on the 19th of July 2011, at 14:15 with the weight of 10 kg. This is the first occassion of a seal-birth in the history of Hungarian zoos.
In the 150-year history of Hungarian zoos, it is the first time a seal has been given birth successfully.
In Nyíregyháza, at Sosto Zoo, the seal pup was born on the 19th of July 2011, at 14:15 with the weight of 10 kg.
After a 10,5-month-long gestation, the seal cow gave birth to a pup that has been reared from the beginning carefully by the cow. The special nature of the birth is that it happened in front of the visitors. Neither she, nor the newborn felt bothered by visitors who had such a unique experience in that only few people can take part. One of our visitors recorded the birth and offered the tape for us that you can watch in our website.
Although harbour seals adapted to the aquatic lifestyle – like the streamlined body, nostrils that they are able to close, the limbs modified into flippers – they come onshore to give birth.
Our 10-year-old female harbour seal called Böbe gave birth at the poolside. The pup was able to swim and dive within 2 hours of birth. And she develops quickly on their mother's fat-rich milk.
Harbour seals are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A fatty tissue layer called blubber is present under their skins and helps to maintain body temperature. It also functions as a nutrient storage and provides mechanical protection as well. Seals have the fattest milk among mammals since pups need grow thick blubber quickly.
The pup will be breast-feeded by her mother in the first 6 weeks. Because of the fact that seal milk is 12-13 times more fatter than cow milk, at the end of lactation period the pup will double in weight, while its length will be the same.
