She had dug a deep trench on one side of her, but as labor progressed, she moved around more.
She moved herself out of her trench.
She chased the gulls away but didn't go nuts at them.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Birthday!
I photographed a birth today! The mother-to-be was laboring restlessly when we arrived about noon. We settled in to observe.
She had dug a deep trench on one side of her, but as labor progressed, she moved around more.
She stayed in the same general area. That's her, center right top. The beach is pretty crowded.
At one point, a male came near her, as he evaded another bull. She barked him away.
The pup in its sac bulged out.
She looked huge as she strained with contractions.
Finally her water broke.
The birth proceeded quickly after that.
The pup arrived flippers first. They come headfirst about 60 percent of the time, flippers first 40 percent. All the births I've seen before were headfirst.
She seemed like a good mother. She turned to the pup right away.
She chased the gulls away but didn't go nuts at them.
When we left, mother and pup were resting comfortably.
She had dug a deep trench on one side of her, but as labor progressed, she moved around more.
She chased the gulls away but didn't go nuts at them.
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That's so amazing. Thank you for bringing this to us. What unusual experiences you have.
ReplyDeleteSo amazing to witness and document this--and to educate people about these amazing animals!
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