[Animals] Two baby seals were born at the Pal

[AmAL.1]

https://www.zooactu.com/actualites/naissance-bebes-phoques-pal/

It took patience for their mothers, the females Katy and July, who carried them for 11 and a half months, but they arrived safely: on July 5 and 7, two baby seals were born at Le Pal animal park, in the Allier.

The births went well, without assistance. Each of the females gave birth to her young on the beach, in front of the pool. Baby seals are still small. They measure about fifty centimeters and weigh between 4 and 6 kg. They are therefore still far from the weight that they could reach as adults, namely 90 to 100 kg for an average size of between 1 meter and 1 meter 50, depending on the individual and the sex. It is still unknown whether they are males or females. The animal caretakers will proceed to the sexing later and will take the opportunity to check the state of health of the little ones. "For the moment, for our greatest happiness, the whole family is doing well, which delights the dad, Homer", assures Le Pal. In the meantime, the females take care of their babies, which they will breastfeed until they are two months old. Then, the young seals will gradually start to eat fish like the big ones, and preferably sprats, small herrings, capelin and other whiting.

This is not the first time that Katy and July have followed each other so closely to give birth to babies. In June 2020, already, they each had a baby just four days apart. The little ones were then named Tommy and Ayma, in homage to the heroes of the animated series Bibifoc, broadcast in the 1980s.v