Question

In addition to vocalization, how would a mother sea lion locate her pup

Answer 1

Answer:

In addition to vocalization, a mother sea lion locate her pup using a variety of behavioral signals such as moving inside their colony, returning to a familiar location within the colony where she frequented to feed her pup, visual cues and olfactory cues like smelling the approaching pups.

Explanation:

Sea Lions belong to the scientific order Pinnipedia and the family Otariidae.  They can walk on all fours on land by rotating their pelvic girdle under their body and also use their front flippers to move in the water. During their breeding and pupping (birthing) time, they gather in groups called rookeries. They can communicate through vocalizations (barks, growls, and grunts) both on land and in water.

After the return of mother sea lions to the rookery from their searching for food (foraging), the mother-pup pairs identify and locate each other through the exchange of vocalizations. In addition to vocalization, the mothers often return to a home spot (familiar location within their colony where a female frequented to feed her pup), move inside the colony and also use visual and olfactory cues like smelling the approaching pups to correctly identify their pup. Also, the return of the mother to a familiar home spot provides the pup with spatial and geographical memory cues.