Adorable Baby Seal Born At National Zoo In DC

WASHINGTON, DC — If you need a palate cleanser after the last few days of general negativity in the country, how about this newly born baby seal at the Smithsonian National Zoo?

The gray seal pup was born Jan. 21, and she is nursing and bonding with her mom, Kara, who at 33 years old is the oldest gray seal to give birth at the zoo. It's the third pup for Kara and the 26-year-old father, Gunther.

"Animal care staff are cautiously optimistic that the pup will thrive, and Kara is caring for her pup without interference," a zoo statement reads. "The pup weighed 37 pounds as of Jan. 24. Around three weeks of age, the pup will wean and shed her white lanugo coat, revealing a gray and mottled pattern similar to that of the adults. Once she is weaned, keepers will slowly introduce the new pup to the other members of the colony. She will join the Zoo’s adult gray seals and two harbor seals, Luke and Squeegee, on exhibit and public view in the spring."

Keepers at the zoo first confirmed that Kara was pregnant with an ultrasound in August.

The seals are kept in the zoo's American Trail exhibit. The gray seal once was an endangered species but it is now listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are found in areas ranging from the North American coast to the Baltic Sea.

Image via Smithsonian National Zoo