Skip to content

Captive harbour seal mother maintained close contact with pups born 13 years apart

Harbor seal mother and pup resting together on a rocky shoreline
Research · Behaviour

Video observations of one captive harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) found that she maintained close contact with two pups born 13 years apart through body contact, nosing and coordinated movement. The range of behaviours closely resembled earlier descriptions of wild mother–pup pairs at nursery sites, according to the authors.

The study followed the female Victoria and a male pup born at Natureland Zoo in Skegness, England, in 2012, then the same mother and a female pup born in 2025. Archived recordings covered 11 days within the first 16 days after the first birth and produced 216 CCTV clips. The second pair was filmed for about three hours on postnatal days 19–22, producing 74 water-based clips.

Body contact was recorded in 48 of 102 clips during the first week and 54 of 114 clips during the second week for the first pup. Nosing contact and following were also common. The mother followed the pup after he swam away on 93 per cent of recorded occasions in week one, but on 21 per cent in week two. Over the same period, the pup followed when his mother moved away on 21 per cent and then 60 per cent of occasions, respectively. The authors interpret this as a developmental shift in responsibility for maintaining contact.

When the first pup rested alone on land, the mother repeatedly watched and approached him from the water, using nosing, whisker contact, nudging and splashing to gain his attention. Suckling usually followed the mother leading a pup from the water to a haul-out location. With both pups, close contact in the water frequently included relaxed postures and closed or partly closed eyes, which the authors interpreted as body language suggestive of positive emotion.

The authors conclude that the mother and pups could express a broad range of natural behaviour within the captive setting and argue that allowing females to give birth and rear pups naturally can support positive welfare. They also describe the work as a case study of one female and two pups. Parts of the older footage were recorded opportunistically, with areas outside camera view, so the findings document these individuals rather than a representative sample of the species.

Sources and image credit

  1. Wilson, S. C., & Matthews, W. (2026). Behaviour of a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) mother and pups in a zoo setting. Animals, 16(10), 1545. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16101545Primary peer-reviewed open-access case study of harbour seal mother Victoria and two pups born in 2012 and 2025 at Natureland Zoo in Skegness, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.

Image: Ashley Spratt / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Wikimedia Commons — harbor seal mother and pup on the rocky shoreline at Carpinteria, California, 15 April 2014. Illustrative photograph, not Victoria and her pups from the study. · Public domain · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Behaviour

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Harbour Seal Phoca vitulina Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.