There's a new baby at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, the first sea lion birth in the 111-year history of the Highland Park facility and one that made keepers as nervous as first-time parents.

Zoey, one of the zoo's two 14-year-old sea lions, gave birth to the new pup on the sea lion beach in the Kids Kingdom exhibit in the early morning hours of June 13, surprising keepers who heard the back-and-forth vocalizations between mother and new daughter as they entered the exhibit area.

"Zoey is being very attentive and the pup is nursing and vocal. Vocalization is key to the mom and pup bonding process," said Henry Kacprzyk, curator of Kids Kingdom. "The pup is very active and wants to explore, but Zoey is limiting where it goes, and especially steering it away from the pool."

The dark-chocolate-brown pup, which weighed 11 pounds at birth and was a little more than 2 feet long, is up to about 14 pounds now. It is doing well and can see and can shake, groom, scratch, and walk.

Although Zoey and her pup have been visible to zoo visitors at the exhibit, the birth 10 days ago wasn't announced until yesterday because Mr. Kacpryzk and zoo officials were nervous. The mortality rate for sea lion pups is 10 percent to 15 percent within the first month of life and the pup is very dependent upon developing a bond with its mother.

"There were some complications resulting from the animal's health, and the first 30 days for a sea lion are always the roughest," Mr. Kacpryzk said. "I was nervous. Call it a zoological jinx or whatever. Call it superstitious. I was hesitant to have the announcement until we were sure the pup was nursing."

Last Wednesday, when keepers observed the pup was not nursing, zoo staff separated the two and conducted an exam. "Everything appeared to be fine, so we returned the pup to Zoey, and finally, she started nursing again," Mr. Kacpryzk said.

Mr. Kacpryzk said the pup is unnamed, but because it was born on the morning after the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, keepers have speculated on a variety of monikers, though the final word on a name could come from a zoo donor.

The pup's mother was born at the Indianapolis Zoo and came to Pittsburgh in 1998. Its father, Seahawk, commonly called Hawk, is 4 years old and was born and orphaned in the wild in California. He was rescued after beaching himself several times on the sand at Santa Cruz and Bolinas Beach. He was brought to Pittsburgh in 2006.

Keepers noticed breeding activity last year between Hawk and Zoey but were not sure if the female sea lion was pregnant until ultrasound tests in January confirmed it. The tests were inconclusive however in determining how far along she was.

As the days pass, keepers will continue to keep a close watch on the pup making sure it continues to nurse, vocalize, and move about.

"The next big challenge for the pup and for us, is when the pup begins swimming lessons in a couple of weeks," Mr. Kacpryzk said. "We will be watching nervously when Zoey takes it in the water."