Arctocephalus forsteri

Today I drove north of Kaikoura to see the New Zealand Fur Seal colony (in the Subaru I happened to buy a couple days ago). The seals have recently begun having their pups, which take nine months to gestate. Massive bull males, smaller females, and tiny little pups can all be found at the colony right now, living in (mostly) peaceful coexistence. If you stick around long enough you see all kinds of fascinating behavior, including males jousting, mothers interacting with their babies, and pups mimicking the behaviours of their parents. This mother and pup were inseparable: wherever she went, it went, and wherever it went, she went. This is a mom who loves her job.