Even though Zoe and Sierra, the two California sea lion pups, are getting acclimated to being on exhibit with the five Northern fur seals in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, they still tend to stick pretty close together.

California sea lions Zoe and Sierra zipping through the water side by side.

We've noticed that Zoe likes to always have some part of her body in contact with Sierra. We often see the sea lions on deck with their front flippers touching, sometimes one flipper on top of the other.


And when they rest or sleep, they lean on each other, or one rests her head on the other. (Fur seals like their space; they always have at least a flipper's length between them when they sleep. So if you see two dark, furry bodies curled together, you can be sure you're looking at Zoe and Sierra.)