Why aren pups bottle-fed?
There are several reasons. First, we have found it difficult to simulate the nipple of a seal. Second, it takes seal pups a very long time to learn how to nurse from a bottle, and then it is equally difficult to wean them and teach them to eat fish. Tube feeding is faster, more efficient, and the pup makes the transition to fish more easily. Most importantly, an average tube-feed for a pup takes 3 minutes, bottle feeding takes at least 20 minutes and involves more human contact, which we try to minimize.
