Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium wants your help naming their new sea lion pup

The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium welcomed their new California sea lion pup on June 6, and now she needs a name.

In the Tacoma zoo’s 119-year history, the pup is the first-ever to be born there.

According to the zoo, “She’s thriving, growing, and exploring a kiddie pool behind the scenes.”

Before she meets her “adoring fans”, the zoo has asked members of the public to participate in a vote on one of four names. The names were chosen by keepers in the Rocky Shores area of the zoo where the pup has been hanging out with her mom, Eloise.

The names include:

• Rosa: named for the Santa Rosa sea lions in the Channel Islands off California
• Marnie: meaning “of the sea”
• Nori: a type of seaweed
• Pepper: keepers say she was strong and feisty at her first two health checks despite fighting off a respiratory infection.

Zoo keepers say the pup has been nursing, growing, moving, vocalizing, and getting accustomed to her care team since her birth. She now weighs 23 pounds, up from 17 pounds just one week ago. She will nurse for up to one year before adding new foods, such as herring, capelin, and squid to her diet.

Curator Jen Degroot says that the new pup will join the other sea lions and seals in the public viewing pool later this summer, after bonding with mom.

The vote closes at 11 p.m. on July 7, and guests can vote for their favorite name for the new pup until then at this survey link.