Heart-shaped nose: Vernadsky station polar explorers choose a name for this year's first seal

Ukrainian polar explorers from the Akademik Vernadsky station have chosen a name for the first seal pup born this year. The furry animal, which has a heart-shaped nose, was named after the Ukrainian marine drone SeaBaby.

The cute seal also has a patronymic - Svitozarovych. Svitozar Davydenko, a biologist at the station, was the first to find the newborn, the Ukrainian station's Facebook page says.

Immediately after the birth of a Weddell seal pup near the Akademik Vernadsky station, Ukrainian polar explorers traditionally asked everyone on the Internet to suggest their own names for the baby.

"In total, we received almost 400 ideas for names for the newborn seal on Facebook and Instagram. Mykola, Petryk, Hetman, Pager, Donut, Schnitzel, Sirko, Frodo, Zymko, Torpi, Watermelon, and even Penguin - the suggestions were very diverse," the social media post reads.

The team of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition thanked all the contributors for the wonderful options and settled on the name SeaBaby, which was suggested on Facebook by Olga Sabanska.

"As promised, we will send the winner a chevron of the 29th UAE," the polar explorers emphasized.

Ukrainian scientists said that SeaBaby is now 10 days old. He is actively drinking his mother's milk and may soon begin his first acquaintance with the ocean. To confirm these words, they posted a video about the first days of the baby's life.

"These seals begin to live independently and feed in the water after the end of feeding, approximately 7 weeks after birth. Thus, soon, the 'sea babies' will be not only in the Black Sea but also in the Southern Ocean," the 29th UAE team summarized.

Ukrainian scientists also received another piece of good news, "Today, in addition to SeaBaby, another pup was born near Vernadsky. There are also four pregnant females here. We will definitely show new cubs in separate posts."

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