Juvenile / Pup photos

Galapagos sea lion pup, Punta Espinosa.
Species: Galapagos sea lion, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Zalophus californianus wollebaeki
Location: Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01611  

Guadalupe fur seal pup sits on brown rocks along the coastline of Guadalupe Island.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02441  

Guadalupe fur seal mother and pup.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02440  

Pacific harbor seal, mother and pup.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15750  

Pacific harbor seal, mother and pup.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15752  

Northern elephant seal, mother and neonate pup, gulls eating placenta.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 00945  

Guadalupe fur seal, San Benito Islands.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: San Benito Islands (Islas San Benito), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02103  

A Pacific harbor seal pup hauls out on a sandy beach. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 02162  

Guadalupe fur seals, two males fighting, Islas San Benito.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: San Benito Islands (Islas San Benito), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02296  

California sea lion pup starving during 1997-8 El Nino event, Coronado Islands.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02417  

Galapagos sea lion pup nursing.
Species: Galapagos sea lion, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Zalophus californianus wollebaeki
Location: Sombrero Chino, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 02427  

California sea lion mother and pup swimming over kelp-covered reef at the base of Isla Afuera, Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02976  

Guadalupe fur seal, juvenile.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 10321  

Pacific harbor seal pup.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 15763  

Galapagos sea lion pup, Sullivan Bay.
Species: Galapagos sea lion, Zalophus californianus wollebacki, Zalophus californianus wollebaeki
Location: James Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 01658  

Elephant seal mother and pup vocalize to one another constantly, likely to reassure the pup and confirm the maternal identity on a crowded beach. Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15421  

Elephant seal pup scratches its face with its foreflipper. Note the five "fingernails" on the flipper. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 20404  

Northern elephant seal, pup.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 00948  

Mother elephant seal and her pup. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15422  

Elephant seal pup nurses. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15419  

Having just given birth moments before, a mother elephant seal barks at seagulls that are feasting on the placenta and birth tissues. The pup is unharmed; the interaction is a common one between elephant seals and gulls. Winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15481  

Mother elephant seal and her pup. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 20402  

An enormous male elephant seal dwarfs a tiny pup. The bull is not interested in the pup and will typically ignore the pup, but the bull will not hesitate to run the pup over as it moves through the crowd on the beach.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 20403  

Mother elephant seal and her pup. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 20405  

Juvenile northern elephant seal, underwater, San Benito Islands.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: San Benito Islands (Islas San Benito), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 10034  

Northern elephant seal, underwater, San Benito Islands.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: San Benito Islands (Islas San Benito), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 10035  

Mother elephant seal and her pup. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15418  

Elephant seal mother and pup vocalize to one another constantly, likely to reassure the pup and confirm the maternal identity on a crowded beach. Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15420  

An adult male elephant seal, rushing to attack another male intruding on his territory, tramples a tiny pup. Pups experience a high mortality rate, including injury, separation from mother, being washed into the ocean and abandonment.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15423  

Elephant seal pup. The pup will nurse for 27 days, when the mother stops lactating and returns to the sea. The pup will stay on the beach 12 more weeks until it becomes hungry and begins to forage for food.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15476