I now write the Elephant Seal column for the local newspaper, The Cambrian. Here's my first column.
Tattered and torn.
That’s what the adult male elephant
seals that are on the beach now look like. Their molting skin is
peeling off. It looks awful, but it’s normal.
The adult males
return to the beach for a month or so of quiet time in July and August,
while they get their new skin for the coming year.
The old skin is brown, contrasting with the pearly gray new skin underneath.
Their skin keeps its scars, so senior seals continue to display their battle history.
Molting
skin all at one time, called a catastrophic molt, is unusual for
mammals. Snakes peel their skin off to grow, and some insects and
crustaceans split their outer skin off, but seal skin just falls off in
pieces.
Visitors often ask whether the seals are rubbing their
skin off with sand. I’ve never seen a seal do that. They toss sand on
their backs, but that’s a way to regulate temperature.
These seals
are comfortable in very cold water. They are deep divers, foraging at
1,000 feet deep and more, in the icy waters of the North Pacific. They
are warm-blooded mammals and their blubber insulates them against the
cold.
On the beach, they heat up in the sun, even on cloudy days. The sand
gives some protection from the sun.
Summer is the low point for the number of seals on the beach, but that’s relative. There are seals on the beach year-round.
In
July and August, the adult males are here, the ones with the big nose
(technically, proboscis) that gives them their name. There are lots of
them out there, especially at the north end.
Friends of the
Elephant Seal posts a sign in the parking lot, directing visitors to the
best place to see the seals that day. Seals are always coming and
going.
Younger seals of both sexes are migrating and foraging in the open ocean now.
They’ll return to the beach in the fall for a few weeks of rest.
The
pregnant female seals are at sea, foraging for food to grow their pups.
They left the beach after they molted their skin in May and June.
They’ll return to the beach in December and January to give birth to their pups.
Friends
of the Elephant Seal docents who staff the site have samples of
elephant seal skin you can touch — ask to see it. They are easily
recognizable in their blue jackets. Docents are stationed at the site
year-round.
Becoming a docent is a great way to learn about local
natural history. Training is free, coming up on Sept. 13, Oct. 11, 18
and 25. Docents serve four three-hour sessions each month.
For more information and to register for the 2014 training sessions, call 924-1626 or use the online docent application: http://www.elephantseal.org/Friends/docent_application.html.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
Summer vacation
Lots of visitors discovering the elephant seals! Several good examples of molting easy to see on the beach.
Lots of big, fat males on the beach. They make me think of how many fish and squid they have eaten to get so big.
These big males show their seniority with their large chest shields. Youngsters sparred in the water, but mostly life was quiet today.
This boy made himself comfortable on his brothers.
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