The following article from the Victoria Times Colonist with a video of an interview with Dr. Martin Haulena of the Vancouver Aquarium appeared in the Times Colonist on October 29 2024 concerning the rescue of an entangled sea lion at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve:
Moody Monday
Not much to report today! Rainy and grey all day with the wind picking up in the afternoon and still going strong as I write this.
The sea lions took a toll on the fence over night as they usually do but it still managed to keep them out, except for one lone Cali who was happy to head back over.
The humpbacks were EVERYWHERE today. Every direction I looked I either saw a breach, a tail slap, or a blow and it certainly made the moody weather a little brighter.
Facility Work:
- Cleaned solar panels
- Repaired electric fence
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 7
- Private: 0
Weather:
- Sky: Cloudy/rainy
- Wind: Low of 0 knots, high of 16 knots
- Sea: Whitecaps
- Temperature: Low 10•C, High 17•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Oct 13 Animal Census
Mammals
Steller sea lions: 312
California sea lions: 1052
Harbour seals:145
Elephant seals: 1
Birds
Bald Eagles: 2
Gulls: 773
Canadian Geese: 18
Turnstones: 10
Whimbrels: 3
Cormorants: 602
Sparrows: 2
Harlequin ducks: 7
Vessels:
Eco: 11
Private: 4
Weather:
- Sky: Blue with some cloud
- Wind: Low of 0 knots, high of 5 knots
- Sea: Calm
- Temperature: Low 9•C, High 18•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Summer in October
Today felt like summer! 20 degrees, sunny, and windless, just beautiful!
The sea lions really did a number on the fence over night, a few broke right through and I had to shoo 3 of them back from various areas. There was one particular sea lion that couldn’t figure out how to get back across the fence so I lowered an entire section for him and in true Cali fashion he panicked and ran through an entirely different section and tore it all down. The fence was unplugged of course, but I swear when a sea lion’s fight or flight reflex kicks in the rest of their brain shuts off and they just flail.
Flight over fight is often their choice
There were whales for miles in every direction, so easy to see when the ocean is as glassy as it was today. T049C Neilson cruised through the reserve today, he is a 26 year old transient killer whale who typically travels alone. He also has a love for playing with buoys and crab traps – often resulting in panicked calls to DFO from people thinking he’s entangled. Not the safest hobby to take up when you’re a whale.
Overall today was rather casual, lots of time outside in the sun and an afternoon spent fixing the fence….again!
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 16
- Private: 4
Weather:
- Sky: Blue and sunny
- Wind: Not even a breeze!
- Sea: Glassy
- Temperature: Low 8•C, High 20•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Northern Lights at Race Rocks
Last night’s northern lights were as incredible as I could’ve hoped for! This is the second time now that I have been lucky enough to witness them from Race Rocks.
This morning the sky was still colourful – this time with a beautiful sunrise accompanied by a logging humpback just off the south side of the island. It slept there as I completed my morning fence repairs, surfacing for a big breath every few minutes.
The sea lions had a hay day with the fence over night, and I’m sure there will be just as many repairs needed tomorrow. Good thing I love them anyway!
Both female elephant seals are still here which always makes my day, they aren’t big fans of the sea lions but manage to tolerate them.
Greg brought 3 loads of water over today – topping the fresh water tank up 4000L which means its now full!
I filled the generator up with diesel and we brought the small tank up as well so I won’t have to try and move it on my own any time soon. I spent the afternoon topping up battery electrolytes and rolling fire hoses before moving inside to get some work done.
Another beautiful day out here, sure doesn’t seem like October!
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Elephant Seal L334
Nothing too wild to report today!
The two female elephant seals that have been hanging around the south side of the island have now been on the boat launch all day. The one with the green tag is L334 who I spotted here in the spring. She was tagged in Ano Nuevo, California and Race Rocks is the first place she was spotted after being tagged a year prior – such a far journey! I updated the Ano Nuevo team and will be interested to see if she’s been seen anywhere else lately.
Greg brought over some fresh water today as the sea water by the jetty is still too full of sea lions and their feces to pump into the cistern.
Tons of humpbacks around all day today, and I hear the northern lights might make an appearance tonight so I’ll keep you posted!
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 8
- Private: 1
Weather:
- Sky: Blue sky and sunny
- Wind: Low of 1 knot, high of 8 knots
- Sea: Calm
- Temperature: Low 6•C, High 15•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
1, 2, 3 Baby Stellers!
When I first saw the Steller pup a couple of days ago I was SO excited. As previously mentioned, Race Rocks is not a rookery so pups are not born here. The nearest rookery would be near Ucluelet and the other well established rookeries are much further north.
I reached out to a few people and I’m told that this pup could have been from the rookery near Ucluelet – which is still very far, or perhaps the mom didn’t give birth at a rookery and rather a different haulout site, which isn’t totally out of the question.
Fast forward to today and I’m photographing the pup when I hear what sounds like a baby goat screaming behind me. I turned around to find yet another Steller pup and its mom! And yes – baby Stellers sound like goats/sheep and often yell out a loud “BAAAAAH”.
Pup 1
Pup 2
I spent about an hour watching these two babies interact with their moms and other sea lions around them, taking so many photos that I’m surprised my camera didn’t catch fire. I finally headed back to the house and stopped dead in my tracks as I noticed a third pup and its mom on the rocks next to the jetty!
Pup 3!!!!
I ran back to the south side of the island to make sure no one took a swim and the other pups were still there. So we now have three whole Steller sea lion pups!
I mentioned in my blog post a couple days ago that we’ve seen nursing moms and pups before but those were much older pups so this is new. These are 2024 pups which means they were born sometime around June-July and are only a few months old!
I can’t wait to watch them over the next 3 weeks and see who else shows up!
I think his mom might be ready to find a babysitter!
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Entangled Steller (still)
Over the week I’ve been here I’ve seen the same entangled Steller every day, usually on the same side of the island. Since he had been sighted so regularly we made a plan with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) to make the trip from the mainland to disentangle him.
The head veterinarian at VAMMR is the only person here in BC that is trained and capable of darting a sea lion with a sedative in order to remove whatever it is entangled in.
There are so many factors that go into planning and executing these response efforts.
- First: the animal has to be seen consistently over a few days in the same spot. Sea lions are mobile and keeping track of them isn’t always easy. There is nothing worse than showing up to help an animal only to find out it is no longer there.
- Second: the VAMMR and DFO teams both have to be available with adequate vessels. Disentanglements can require teams to lean over the side of a boat to access the animal so rhibs are preferred and often necessary.
- Third: the weather and tide have to be rather ideal conditions. If a sedated animal is in the water you can’t risk a fast moving tide or swell – that’s not safe for anyone. Wind and rain are not only factors that can make it difficult to dart the target animal but they also make it near impossible to fly a drone – an essential tool in these rescues.
Basically, all of these factors need to line up on the same day in order for a response to be planned. That day was today! Both teams available, no wind, good tides, animal seen all week…well until Sunday.
I did not see the sea lion Sunday or Monday despite my best efforts and requests for vessels in the area to keep an eye out. The animal being in the area is of course the most important aspect and without him there is no disentanglement to be done. The response was called off last night, teams standing down until he was re-sighted – a very reasonable decision.
HOWEVER…Guess who was perched on the rock next to the jetty this morning when I did my morning walk around? Yep, you guessed it, our big ol’ Steller with a packing strap tightly wrapped around his neck, and I’m not at all surprised. This is a frequent and very frustrating occurrence in the marine mammal field and had the team come out today I’m sure we wouldn’t have been able to find him. That’s just how it works sometimes.
What now?
From here, we continue monitoring and planning. We all know we want to help him, so as the Ecoguardian I will continue to let both teams know each day that I see him. We will all work together to find another day where we can tick all the factor boxes and get out here to successfully remove the entanglement. It’ll happen!
For now – here is a video of a recent disentanglement done by VAMMR and DFO so you have a bit of an idea what goes into it.
Other things from today:
Facility Work:
- Oil and fuel filter change on the generator
- Fuel transfer and filled generator with diesel
- Chopped wood
- Repaired electric fence
- Topped up battery electrolytes
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 7
- Private: 1
Weather:
- Sky: Cloudy, intermittent rain
- Wind: Low of 1 knot, high of 11 knots
- Sea: Calm, ripple in the afternoon
- Temperature: Low 8•C, High 17•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **
Steller Pup!
As frustrating as it can be, I think I actually enjoy repairing the fence every morning. It’s become my morning routine – wake up, start a pot of coffee, take a lap outside and repair the damage, return inside to drink the aforementioned coffee.
The sea lions are entertaining. The Calis are alert at first but immediately lie back down even if I’m two feet away from them fixing the fence. However, the much larger Stellers bolt into the water the second they see me even if they are 100m and 300 Calis away from me. You’d think the larger, more intimidating species wouldn’t frighten so easily.
My lazy site supervisor
Speaking of Stellers – I came across a pup and its mom this afternoon next to the jetty. I witnessed nursing mother/pups when I was here in the spring but those pups were much larger. This pup appears to be from this year meaning he would have been born around June/July. Race Rocks is not a rookery so I’m interested to know where he was born! I’ve reached out to some contacts and will report back. Until then…enjoy his cute little face!
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 9
- Private: 3
Weather:
- Sky: Sun and clouds
- Wind: None
- Sea: Calm
- Temperature: Low 8•C, High 17•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail!
Census Day! Humpbacks ..30!
It’s census day!
This is my first time doing the census since June when we only had about 20 sea lions so this count required some focus.
Mammals:
California sea lions: 731
Steller sea lions: 422
Harbour seals: 72
Elephant seals: 2
Cetaceans: more humpback whales than I could keep track of! At least 30+
Birds:
Gulls: 579
Cormorants: 195
Canadian geese: 16
Turnstones: 12
Whimbrel: 1
Savannah sparrow: 1
Today was beautiful out, a perfect sunny Sunday!
Vessels:
- Ecotourism: 10
- Private: 13 + 2 jet skis
Weather:
- Sky: Blue sky and sun
- Wind: NONE
- Sea: Glassy
- Temperature: Low 9•C, High 18•C
** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **