Tag Archives: elephant seal

Female

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It has a been determined: Squall, the
elephant seal pup,  is a female.

This afternoon she was lying on her back sleeping (and snoring) near the flagpole.  She is now a month old and has been without her mother for 6 days. She had been staying around the North side of the main house and hiding from Misery under he North staircase. This morning she ventured out towards the flagpole. Misery went after her a couple times, at one point had her pinned down with his mouth and snout around her neck. Eventually he left her alone, left the island and was later hauled out on Middle Rock.

There were 2 eco tour vessels in the reserve today.

The DND let off three blasts this morning with about 30 mins intervals between them.

Switched to smaller images on the log to try to improve page loading time.

No wind today, warm and the sunny in the afternoon.

Zeke(Chunk) is Wounded

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This morning Zeke and Misery were both back on Great Race.  At some point in the night they must have come in contact and Zeke took a beating.

Ed Note : We now thinks Zeke and Chunk are the same male individuals. Scar patterns match.

There are multiple puncture wounds on his back and the one large open gash looks about 8″ long.  His right eyelid is also slightly to torn.

 

 

 

Misery chased Zeke again today over onto the rocks to the edge of the cliff.  This time Misery followed him onto the rocks but Zeke managed to make his way down the steep rocks on the West side and into the water.  He is currently hauled out on Middle Rock out of harms way for now.

A Standoff and a Fight

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As mentioned previously, Misery seems to be a bit more aggressive now that Bertha is gone.  Yesterday after chasing the pup around the house he took off after Chiunk, the younger male, who had been lying near the helicopter pad.

Misery chased him onto the rocks to the edge of a cliff.  Chunk was stuck but Misery didn’t seem to want to venture onto the rocks, a standoff ensued.

Eventually Misery gave up and made his way down to the boat ramp and into ocean. Later on Misery was in the water near Middle Rock sounding off his horn.  Chunk  took his time to get off the rocks and eventually made his way to the ramp and into the water.  Just before dark I could see Misery in the water by the jetty and throughout the night I could hear him sounding off.

Sometime during the night Zeke and Misery must have had an encounter and it did not go well for Zeke…

Bertha Departs

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The last 24 hrs have been pretty active on the elephant seal front. Yesterday morning I woke up to find Squall, the pup, right up against the door of the house, Misery laying about 12 ft away and no sign of Bertha, the mother.

Bertha had been looking increasingly skinny, tired and pale the past days and had likely given the pup all the milk, and Misery all the mating, that she could give.  She has been remarkably self-sacrificing and resilient, an impressive job of being a mother. I like to think that she is out there somewhere feasting on fish and getting some well deserved rest.

Now that Bertha is gone though, and can no longer distract Misery, he seems to be getting more aggressive.  Yesterday he chased the pup several times and had his jaws around it twice, if he had wanted to do the pup harm he easily could have, but he did not.  Apparently, in past years, Misery has tried to mate with a young pup.  The pup eventually made his away around the N side of the house and hid under the staircase. Misery again chased it later around the E side of the house where it seems to be out of his reach.

The pup stayed on the East side of the house shown in the photo last night and is still there today.  It has been making a lot of noise, presumably calling for its mother.

My Last Morning…

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for two months. Alex returns to the reserve while I fly south to Mexico.

It was an amazing 6 weeks, mostly due to the Elephant Seals. To be able to spend so much time in their close proximity was an opportunity I may never have again (til next January!) Here a few more pictures taken on my tiny point and shoot. We’ll be getting a good camera and telephoto lens soon…

Bertha’s dexterous tail flexing while Squall drains her milk. He is quite persistent.

Fat and Happy

Zeke the sub-adult male…

Big Boss

Lil’ Fatso

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The baby elephant seal is growing at an astounding rate. He has become a fat little sausage of a seal with lots of energy, awareness, and determination. Dad has steamrolled him a few times but he is pretty adept at wiggling out of the way and I have witnessed him take a few snaps at the “Lawn-master”, who has proceeded to back off. Spunky little dude! Mom is going into heat and Mystery getting a bit more aggressive now. I guess I am the closest thing to a rival here. I’ll post some impressive shots of him very soon!

 

 

 

Wet Westerlies

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The winds have died after last nights’s Westerly 60 knot gales. All the remains is a massive groundswell sweeping up Jaun de Fuca Strait, remnant and reminder of the power of the wind. I replaced the wind instrument on our ground weather station. It seems to be working fine now. Today I will sweep off the boat ramp of debris left from the big Sou’Easter a few days ago. For now the rain has moved in and I think I’ll bake muffins!

The young male e-seal has been spending most of his time by the boat house. He goes down the ramp for a dip a few times a day. He is clearly drawn here by the scent of the female but Misery has put the fear into him from their first bloody encounter. 

 

Winter’s Chilly Lash

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Strong Northeasterly winds have buffeted the island for the last 4 days bringing snow, hail and breaking waves over the jetty. The Steller Sea Lions returned to their perch on the South Rocks last night, perhaps now that the worst of the cold has passed. The Phocids (the family name for seals; in our case Harbour and Elephant) seem pretty much immune to the cold. Phocids are able to divert blood flow to their blubber layer to help control their temperatures.

photos 1,3,4: Helene Cyr

Squall the newborn elephant seal seems to be doing well. His fur is thick, I suppose to make up for his lack of blubber. I refer to it as a male but since true seals have retractable nipples, internal testicles and an internal penis sheath for streamlining it is difficult to determine gender.  He sure is cute though…

Two adult males engaging in vocalization threat displays….. Big Nose wins!

Stormy Weather

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Today it is just plain nasty outside with 35 knot nor’easterlies and blowing snow. No sign of the sea lions but the elephant seal family appears to be enduring the storm well. After a few days of poor feeding the pup and mom appear to have figured out their responsibilities and now the pup seems to be nursing vigourously. Misery, the father, is behaving well so far..

Below are some shots of Bertha and Squall, as well as the undisputed king of this island Misery of Race Rocks. Also the sub-adult male showed up last night. Does he have a name?

Newborn!

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I was right about that fat female being pregnant. A few minutes ago she (with Mysery adding some weight to her abdomen) squeezed out a beautiful and seemingly healthy pup! Some of the students witnessed it first-hand! They told me Mysery was getting very close. I observed him snuffling the pup and wanting to be very involved in the experience. He certainly poses a threat because of his size but he seemed to bear the little pup no ill will. Perhaps it is his progeny. The pup picked the nastiest day of the month to be born with strong winds, snow and hail squalls. It will be a long and cold first night, and hopefully a long and fruitful life. I suggest he be named Squall in memory of this auspicious day.

For more info on the Elephants of Race Rocks please see:

http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/ashleyc.htm