Mom and Pup

This morning 2 of the Harbor seal moms and pups were hauled out on the rocks in our bay and didn’t mind me and my boat and my camera.  Pups are born intertidally on land so are in the water very soon after birth, (June and July in this area)  but need practice swimming    Moms stay with the pups at least 4 weeks while nursing,  swimming right next to them.. sometimes the pup rides piggy back.   They weigh about 25 pounds at birth and double their weight in about a month on rich mother’s milk before Mom leaves them to find food on their own.  These seals are rather solitary except for this mother-pup bond… I liked this portrait of these 2.   
the other pair  in the extra