OSAKA -- A spotted seal pup born on Jan. 27 has gone on exhibition at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in this city's Minato Ward, ready to charm visitors with its silver white fur and round eyes.

The fur of this type of seal pup becomes spotted about three weeks after birth.

"We hope people will come and see the pup while it looks cute for this limited time," a representative of the aquarium's public relations team said.

This is the eighth birth of a spotted seal at the aquarium, which now has 10 of the animals. Zoo officials have not confirmed whether the pup is a male or female. At the time of its birth, the pup weighed 7.98 kilograms. It fell into the water in its enclosure soon after birth, but swam energetically.

A spotted seal baby born at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is seen in Osaka's Minato Ward on Feb. 1, 2018. (Mainichi)

The birth was the second for the pup's mother, Daiya, who is estimated to be 14 years old. The pup's father has not been identified. When Daiya gave birth for the first time in 2012, she didn't take care of her pup, so the animal was raised by breeding staff member Satoshi Takeuchi, now 36.

"Seeing the mother's growth, I'm filled with deep emotion," he said.

The pup spends half the day sleeping but whines for milk from its mother when it is awake. The mother and young seal swim together several times each day. The pup will start to eat fish in about one month.

"I want to focus my energy on raising the pup healthily," Takeuchi said.