Tag Archives: entangled sea lions

Saturday Update

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Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

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Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood 

Last Census of 2024 & 2 Entangled Sea Lions

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Gorgeous day today!

Since it looks like it’ll be my only sunny day of my trip out here, I spent most of it outside. It was also the perfect day for an animal census.

While out and about today I unfortunately came across two entangled sea lions. Both have been reported to the right groups and I will be monitoring them over the next few days to see if they stick around.

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes
  • Repaired electric fence
  • Dug up weeds
  • Washed main house windows

Vessels:

  • Private: 1
  • Ecotourism: 3

Dec 30 Census:

Mammals:

  • California sea lions: 182
  • Steller sea lions: 339
  • Harbour seals: 24

Birds:

  • Bald eagles: 25
  • Canadian geese: 15
  • Gulls: 531
  • Turnstones: 47
  • Cormorants: 132
  • Oyster catchers: 6
  • Harlequin ducks: 8

Mixed Weather

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Ecological Notes:

  • Female Elephant Seal has left the ramp area…… back to sea for now it appears.
  • Sunday night high winds brought down the pier fencing, and the Sea lions sure took advantage of that fast!

  • Very young, tagged,  Elephant Seal visited the ramp area briefly. I saw him coming up fast, so I left the area. When I returned a couple hours later, there were sea lions on the ramp and the Elephant Seal was gone. This was at the same  time the adult female left.
  • A known California Sea Lion, that was freed of an entanglement last year is around the north side. Although the wound still looks rough, the last Ecoguardian (Kendra) assured me this is a good improvement.
  • In addition to the expected numbers, there have been a couple very large flocks of both Black Oyster Catchers, and Black Turnstones. Groups were seen briefly, before flying off.
  • Nearly double the normal number of Canada Geese here still. 

  • There are still many Humpback Whales viewable from the park, and Transient Orca have passed by nearly every other day.

Visitors:

  • Work crew still working on the windows on the Student and Science centre, as well as finishing the inside of the last window on the main house.
  • A small group of donors, and a couple college staff visited for a tour of the facility.

Facility Work:

  • Ongoing repairs and upgrades to the electrical fencing. Awaiting new connectors to replace a couple sections and add a new section.
  • Fuel transfers and an extra check on battery electrolyte levels.
  • Although not overly high, wind direction has blown some doors off, including the boat shed …. minor items, but they add up!

  • Taking advantage of the rain periods to clean the sidewalks (mostly goose poop), as well as cleaning the salt off the windows.

  • Cleaned the windows on the tower, inside and out.

Noted Vessel Traffic:

  • Still a few Ecotourism vessels
  • 2 Jet skis have visited the reserve a couple days in a row.

 Noted Infractions:

  • The first time the jet skis were scene, they were doing doughnuts and high speed passes in the main channel, disturbing birds and sea lions. My camera was charging, but i signalled to them with the blowhorn siren and waved them off.

  • The next day, they stayed out of the reserve, playing in one of the standing current waves a little further out. They did a wide sweep around the area on their way back (hopefully realizing they were being watched).

Weather Events:

  • Monday, November 11:
    • Sky: overcast with frequent sunny breaks
    • Wind: Morning Westerly winds to 25kts, veering to west at 5-10 kts in the afternoon
    • Sea: 1 meter swell, calming to slight chop by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 12oC, High 18oC
  • Tuesday, November 12:
    • Sky: Overcast, with sunny breaks
    • Wind: mixed N-NE 5-10 kts
    • Sea:  slight chop, but a swell wrapping around into the pier area by afternoon
    • Temperature Low 10oC, High 112oC
  • Wednesday, November 13:
    • Sky: Overcast with light rain later in the day
    • Wind: Variable direction Northerly winds, 5-10 kts, shifting to WSW later in the afternoon
    • Sea:  light chop, some tidal swell in the reserve
    • Temperature Low 9oC, High 13oC

 

 

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

 

Weather – Current:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72

 

Weather – Past:

http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?

Sea Lion Disentanglement Story

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I said there would be more disentanglement photos and information to come, and today is that day.

The following post contains photos of a severely entangled and wounded sea lion so this is your warning to skip this post if you don’t want to see it…but I hope you stay because it has a happy ending.

On Sunday, Oct 20th I spotted a California sea lion with one of the worst entanglements I’ve ever seen. With tears running down my face as I photographed it, I immediately reported it to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR).

As I’ve mentioned before, sea lion disentanglements are tricky. You need the weather and tide to be calm, you need all teams to be available on the same day, and you need the entangled animal to stay put until that happens. Sometimes it takes weeks or even longer for this to happen.

This particular animal didn’t have weeks to wait. The monofilament gillnet was wound so tightly around his rostrum (muzzle) that he couldn’t eat. It was wrapped inside and around his mouth and embedded deeply in his neck. His poor body condition showed that he had been suffering from this entanglement for quite some time.

Within 48 hours of my initial sighting, a plan was in place. A team from VAMMR came out with two teams from DFO, as well as myself and Greg to help this sea lion. The weather was sunny and the ocean was glassy. Perfect conditions and in record timing. Best of all, our entangled lion was still on his rock.

Disentanglements can often be quick – a snip of a packing strap or fishing line, pull it off, tag it, and off they swim – but not this one. The rescue took 75 minutes from sedation to release. Once he was darted with a sedative he entered the water, requiring the teams to remove the entanglement from the boat – making it even harder. The netting was so tight that typical tools couldn’t be used and surgical scissors were required to cut it off.

I’ve worked in the marine mammal rescue field for over 6 years and this response truly left me at a loss for words. It was devastating, harrowing, and relieving all in one. Watching that sea lion swim off and haul out on a nearby rock was incredible and left everyone involved feeling like they were on cloud nine.

Since rescue, I’ve seen the sea lion almost every day on the south side of the main island and I’ve been able to watch him as he recovers. Each day he has been brighter and moved a little more, and yesterday was the first day in a week that I have not seen him. My hope is that he’s gone off to hunt now that he’s feeling better.

I only have a few days left out here so I am crossing my fingers I get to see him one more time.

I am overjoyed with how this response came together and played out. The collaboration between VAMMR, DFO, Pearson College, and BC parks was unmatched and it was such a massive undertaking for this rescue to happen so quickly and it was truly life saving.

As for today…lots of outside tasks done today (none of which beats a disentanglement so I won’t bore you).

Facility Work:

  • Fence repair
  • Propane transfer/change out
  • Algae removal on student house
  • Washed windows

Weather:

  • Sky: Blue sky and sunny
  • Wind: Low of 1 knot, high of 6 knots
  • Sea: Calm
  • Temperature: Low 7•C, High  11•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Entangled Sea Lion and Oct 20 Census

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*WARNING* Today’s blog post contains photos of a severely entangled sea lion with deep wounds.

Well, if my warning wasn’t an indicator – today has not been the most fun day of animal spotting.

I came across a California sea lion this morning with by far the worst entanglement I’ve ever seen. What appears to be monofilament fishing net has wrapped itself so tight that its caused deep wounds on the back of his neck, as well as the rest of the way around. On top of that, the netting is so tightly wrapped around his muzzle that he doesn’t appear to be able to open his mouth.

Given that my full time job is in marine mammal rescue, seeing entangled animals is not new to me, I see them so often that I sometimes feel immune to how awful it is.

Today I am not immune, I am horrified.

All of the right organizations and people have been contacted and I know that every single one of those people will do everything they can to help him. I just hope he stays put until then.

There is a second entangled sea lion here as well, a Steller with a packing strap around its neck which is bad but thankfully not as severe as the Cali.

Moving on to today’s census….with the weather being so bad this weekend, I’m not surprised the numbers are down from last week!

Mammals:

Steller sea lions: 392
California sea lions: 652
Harbour seals: 41

Tons of humpbacks this week and a few transient orca stopped by the jetty yesterday in the midst of the storm!

Birds:

Gulls: 215
Cormorants: 170
Turnstones: 25
Canadian geese: 23
Oyster catchers: 2
Golden-crowned kinglet: 3

If you’ve made it this far, here is a picture of a cute little bird: See the taxonomy page at https://racerocks.ca/regulus-satrapa-golden-crowned-kinglet/

Golden Crowned kinglet

Golden-crowned kinglet. Regulus satrapa

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 5

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy and rainy
  • Wind: Low of 3 knots, high of 19 knots, with gusts up to 37 knots
  • Sea: Whitecaps in the afternoon
  • Temperature: Low 9•C, High 14•C

** All wildlife photos taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail! **

Home Sweet Home!

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Well, it’s been a few months…but I’m back!

I arrived early this afternoon, ready to tuck into another month of living it up on the rocks. The autumn shift from 25ish sea lions to over 1000 is overwhelming, as is the smell. That being said, I love it and I honestly wish there was 1000 more (ask me if I feel the same way at the end of the month).

Sea lions galore!

Another animal that has increased in number since I left is the humpbacks. I cannot look out to the horizon and not at least 10 of them, it is breathtaking.

As I reacclimatized and walked around the island I watched as large California sea lion barrelled his way through the electric fence, stripping the wood right off the post. He then became stuck on the inside of the fence looking very confused about his situation before he tumbled back over. Thus began my first task of this trip and what I anticipate to be a task I re do multiple times a day – repairing the fence.

In other animals news, I came across 2 entangled sea lions. They are both already known to DFO and the Marine Mammal Rescue teams. I believe the Cali is actually scarring from an old entanglement whereas the Steller is still very much active. I’ll be updating the teams to let them know he is still hanging around the area.

Steller sea lion with an active entanglement

California sea lion with entanglement scarring

I also came across a gull looking a little worse for wear with a fishing lure stuck in his beak. It was still very active so not an easy one to try and help. Poor guy!

Ouch!

Well, thats about it for me today, plenty more tomorrow I’m sure!

As buck would have it!

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Today we tackled the pile of logs just waiting to be bucked into some grade A firewood. The rock is equipped with a beauty Husqvarna 450 rancher chainsaw that just purrs…those logs didn’t stand a chance. In the words of Buckin’ Billy Ray, ‘She cuts eh!” I think swinging an axe might have legs as the next fitness trend! We also made some minor improvements to the fence and touched up some of the auxiliary buildings.

We reported yesterday’s entanglement and unfortunately saw another one today.

Whale Watching Vessels: 20

Private Vessels: 6

Weather: Clear and Sunny all day. Winds out the SE then switching to West later in the aft. 6-12kts

The Fence is up!

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There is now a perimeter around all the facilities! Now, Scott and I just need to make sure that they keep standing…

We also did the census this morning at low tide. There has been a dramatic increase in sea lions since last week!

Birds:

  • Gulls: 1454
  • Cormorants: 42
  • Oystercatchers: 3
  • Canada Goose: 15

Mammals:

  • Stellar Sea Lion: 360
  • California Sea Lion: 933
  • Harbour Seal: 127

Animal Tracking and Injuries: Noted one California sea lion with Salmon Flasher. Will report to DFO Tomorrow.

 

Whale Watching Vessels: 15

Private Vessels: 5

Weather: Clear and Sunny all day. Winds W 10knts