Data from: The role of visual cues in mother–pup reunions in a colonially breeding mammal

Parental care is an important factor influencing offspring survival and
adult reproductive success in many vertebrates. Parent-offspring
recognition ensures care is only directed to filial young, avoiding the
costs of misallocated resource transfer. It is essential in colonial
mammal species, such as otariids (fur seals and sea lions), in which
repeated mother-offspring separations increase the risk of misdirecting
maternal effort. Identification of otariid pups by mothers is known to be
multimodal, yet the role of visual cues in this process remains uncertain.
We used 3-dimensional visual models to investigate the importance of
visual cues in maternal recognition of pups in Australian sea lions
(Neophoca cinerea). We showed that the colour pattern of pup pelage in the
absence of any other sensory cues served to attract the attention of
females and prompt investigation. Furthermore, females were capable of
accurately distinguishing between models imitating the age-class of their
own pup and those resembling older or younger age-classes. Our results
suggest that visual cues facilitate age-class discrimination of pups by
females and so are likely to play an important role in mother-pup reunions
and recognition in otariid species.