A Seal Reunion

When the South American fur seal is first born, they spend a great deal of their young years with their family. Tamar, the latest pup born at Living Coasts Zoo has been too small to meet her family – until now.

Reunited after 6 months, Tamar and his mother have returned to the rest of the seals. Grace, Tamar’s mother, was taken to give birth in isolation – so her and Tamar could bond. Head Keeper, Lois Rowell explained, ‘We separated them when Grace took herself off to give birth in the peace and quiet of the off-show area.

“We kept them separate while Grace bonded with her pup Tamar. We wanted to make sure he was suckling and gaining weight - and we also needed to know he had learnt how to swim and was generally more active before he encountered his very boisterous older sister Gemini and his very good-natured but large and slightly clumsy dad Karel!”

Grace, father Karel, Tamar and his siblings were reunited after 6 months. The young females, Gemini and Tunanta greeted Tamar to play. Gemini is Tamar’s sister whilst Tunanta is unrelated, but never the less Tamar was ready to be introduced to the seal gang. Rowell added, “That went well - the two youngsters enjoyed playing together while Grace enjoyed a bit of peace and quiet without Tamar!”

Next, they mixed in older female Tunanta. Introducing animals to one another is always a tense time, as individuals – just like people – do not always get on. ‘Grace was a little unsettled at first because she is a very protective mum and would not allow Tunanta to approach Tamar,’ said Lois. ‘But by the third session together Grace was fine with Tunanta and, so we introduced Karel. He didn’t notice at first, but when he did see Grace he went to greet her. That first time, she told him off and he went off and had a sleep on the rock!’

It only took a couple of hours for Karel and Tamar to get used to each other. Lois: ‘Karel doesn’t take much notice of Tamar and Tamar spends much of his time playing with Gemini and Tunanta and suckling from Grace or curled up beside her asleep!’

Operations Manager Clare Rugg added: ‘They are having a great time – even Karel has been playing with the youngsters! Grace has chosen which rock she is using for her and the pup and the others are all using all three pools, which is great for visitors.’

For more information on Living Coasts and the whole seal family, click HERE.