English The first three sea lions are born at the Oceanogràfic of the City of the Arts and Sciences
Aug 5, 2005
The Oceanogràfic of the City of the Arts and Sciences has three new animals on its premises. They are the first sea lions to have been born in the Islas exhibition, an area in the open air precinct of the Oceanogràfic that takes as a reference the islands situated along the South American coast, which are characterised by the large sea lion colonies of Patagonia.
Since its beginnings the Oceanogràfic has seen the birth of several animals as the captive breeding programmes have been a success. The first births occurred in 2003: a harbour seal, a shark, and a Chilean flamingo, while in 2004 a penguin chick and two bottlenose dolphin pups were born, to be followed by a second penguin in 2005. The three seal lions, two males and a female, were born a fortnight ago. The pups, which weighed some 10 kilos at birth, do not leave their mothers’ side in the breeding pool and will be breast-fed for a year, although as from the sixth month they can join their companions of the same species in the display pool. Once the 12 months of breast-feeding have passed, they will be able to live on the normal diet of their species, which consists of blue fish such as the capelin, the herring, or the sprat.
The Islas exhibition currently contains 17 sea lions. These gregarious animals are noted for their intelligence and friendliness, and also for their great skill underwater during their marine incursions.