Gemini (right) has been reunited with her mother Grace at Living Coasts in Torquay, the UK. Photo: Paignton Zoo/PA WireGemini (right) has been reunited with her mother Grace at Living Coasts in Torquay, the UK. Photo: Paignton Zoo/PA Wire

A seal pup which was hand-reared by zookeepers has been reunited with her mother.

South American fur seal Gemini was born on June 3 last year at Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon. Her mother, Grace, was unable to produce milk so keepers at the coastal zoo hand-reared the pup.

Gemini has now been weaned by staff and introduced to the adult seals there, including her mother.

Clare Rugg, operations manager at Living Coasts, said: “Gemini has been weaned off her fishy milkshakes and introduced to the joy of sprats.

“It took a while, as she had to learn how to swallow solid food. She is now eating 650g of sprats three times a day.”

Pups and mothers recognise each other and bond by call and smell. The bond between Grace and Gemini was broken as the pup had to be hand-reared. She then built a bond with the keepers caring for her.

Rugg said the key to their successful reintroduction was keeper Lee Mach.

“All the seals trust him and are used to his voice and his smell,” she said.

“Grace and Gemini are behaving like unrelated female seals sharing a pool. Grace is the dominant female − but she is very tolerant of Gemini as she instinctively knows she is younger.

“Gemini is learning very quickly from Grace. Gemini is very playful − and it is likely that a playful youngster will encourage more play in the adults, so they will be even more fun to watch.”

Gemini joins mother Grace, father Karel and female Tunanta, who was the first seal pup to be born at the zoo in 2006.

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