Keepers at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire have joyfully announced the birth of a second Californian Sea Lion pup.
Parents Belle, aged 11, and Memphis, aged six, welcomed the male pup earlier this month on Sea Lion Beach, continuing a legacy of sea lion births at Longleat since the species first arrived at the Park in 1968.
Visitors can now spot the new arrival during the Jungle Cruise on Half Mile Pond, alongside his half-brother born just days earlier. Names for the new pups have not yet been decided.
Lead keeper Lauren Bow commented, “It’s very exciting having two new pups here at Half Mile Pond. This is Belle’s second pup after she had Baxter last year. Witnessing her maternal instincts is particularly special to me.”
“Belle was the first pup born when I joined Longleat, so seeing her raise her own pups is a remarkable moment,” she added.
The addition of these two pups brings the sea lion population at the Wiltshire Estate to eight.
