An orphaned Northern Fur Seal left in a box outside the Alaska Department of Fish and Game offices is on track despite a rough start in life.

Photo Credit:  Alaska SeaLife Center

The Stranding Team at Alaska SeaLife Center took in the newborn Seal, who weighed only 9.5 pounds, on July 24.  A note on the box said that the pup’s mother had died giving birth.  The pup, named Chiidax by the staff, was underweight and dehydrated.

Today, Chiidax weighs 18 pounds and weaned at four months old, which is right on target for a wild Fur Seal.  Chiidax now enjoys whole fish rather than formula.

Now that Chiidax is weaned, he’s also molted his dark pup coat and sports the cream and brown coat of a young juvenile.

Northern Fur Seals inhabit the Pacific Coast of the United States, the Bering Sea, and the coast of the Russian Far East.  As a male Fur Seal, Chiidax is destined to weigh about 590 pounds (270 kg) when full grown.  Male Fur Seals weigh four to five times as much as females.  Northern Fur Seals are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

See more photos of Chiidax below the fold.