NOT Ella

The Marine Mammal Center rescued the first elephant seal pup of the season. The MMC volunteers named the pup Kickoff, for kicking off the season.

He (or she, sex not yet determined) is far too thin. He appears to have molted his black natal pelage, so he's had some nursing experience.

Diana Kramer, site manager for the San Luis Obispo facility in Morro Bay, notes that Kickoff shows the “peanut head” (dip between head and shoulders), prominent hip bone area, and loose baggy skin that are typical of starving pups. "This indicated to us Kickoff was significantly underweight and needed rescue," she said. 

These mothers are showing some indications of the loss of blubber in their necks. They are all thin after nursing their pups.

Kickoff will get the supportive care he needs and be released when he is able to manage on his own. 

Beach changes

Ella is one of many weaned seals on the beach now. They are collecting themselves into pods.

Some have not completed their first molt yet. Others have, and look like young seals, like the one on the right.

The few mothers who remain on the beach are thin from nursing their pups.

They will soon join their sisters back in the ocean, feeding and gaining blubber.

Weaners

Ella is one of many weaners on the beach now. I can't tell which one she is. She doesn't have any distinctive markings, so one weaner looks pretty much like the next.

She and the other weaners will stay on the beach for two months or so. Right now, they are resting and playing. They won't have anything to eat until they get out into the water and embark on their first migration. This is their first long fast.

As they sleep on the beach and cavort in the surf, their metabolism is changing. They spend the next eight to ten weeks without food, living off that blubber. Their bodies convert some of it into muscle. They also increase the amount of blood and the oxygen-carrying capacity of their muscles, important adaptations to allow them to dive deep. The black coats they were born with are replaced with lighter tan and silver coats.

Weather continues warm and sunny, no rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. So warm that today, the seals moved close to the water to stay cool. As the tide came in, the pups and their mothers barked and flapped around. They were upset, but the pups that were too close to the water were big enough to get themselves up the beach and out of trouble. I think they were all probably okay.