“How Can You Resist That Face?” Harbor Seal Pup Born at Six Flags in Vallejo

Easter is a time for spring and renewal - a time when babies and bunnies are born into the world.

Apparently, it's birth time for Pacific harbor seal pups, too.

One such pup was born Saturday morning - 24 hours before Easter - at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo - the first seal pup born at the park in eight years, according to spokeswoman Nancy Chan.

"How can you resist that face?" Chan asked rhetorically.

The pup, named "Lily," because of the time of year she was born, weighs in at 20 pounds. The black, gray and white pinniped is the offspring of her 9-year-old  mom, Maile, and 10-year-old dad, Dyson.

Harbor seal mom, Maile, kisses her pup, Lily, at Six Flags in Vallejo (Samantha Sanford).

Pacific harbor seals, also known as true seals differ from sea lions in a number of ways, including having shorter, stouter flippers and no visible earflaps. When swimming, they use their hind flippers to propel through the water.

Photos: Adorable Zoo Babies
 
Pups double their weight within the first four to six weeks nursing on the rich mother’s milk, which is about 45 percent fat, and then is weaned. In the wild, a mother will leave its pup after the first month to finish growing and fend for itself.

Chan said within hours, Lily was nursing, swimming, exploring, and of course, being "exceptionally cute."

 Harbor seal mom, Maile, swims with newborn pup, Lily, at Six Flags in Vallejo (Nancy Chan).

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