Sea Lion pup born at the Santa Barbara Harbor
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A California sea lion gave birth to a pup at the Santa Barbara Harbor on Sunday night.
The adorable pup was born on the launch ramp. The launch ramp is a high traffic and busy location with people, boats, cars, bikes and dogs. These elements create risk to the successful bonding, nursing and survivability of the pup.
The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute said that the mother is being protective with the newborn. The two are currently bonding and the baby sea lion is nursing.
Volunteers are watching over the pup. They are asking people to respect the perimeter created around the sea lions and to keep a distance and voices down to provide less stress and interference for the mother and the newborn pup.
