Ella, a 47-day-old California sea lion pup, takes one of her first swim lessons with Samantha Sanford, marine mammal supervisor for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, in Vallejo, Calif. Ella was abandoned by her mother on a beach in Santa Barbara, and will never be able to survive on her own because she is imprinted on humans.

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(Joel Rosenbaum/The Reporter)