Bulking up

On New Year's Day, I went to check on Ella. With a dozen or more newborn pups close by, I thought I might have lost track of her. No problem! She is far and away the fattest, most grown pup out there.

She's getting a nice crease at the back of her neck, an indication of good store of blubber.

I can't tell whether Ella is a male or a female. males nurse an average of a day longer than females and gain more weight. Males get teeth sooner than females, too. Ella probably has most of the 30 teeth she will get by the time she is weaned.

Ella has a solid relationship with her mother, but several pups nearby were separated from any nearby females. Maternal-pup separation is the most common cause of pup death, so it's a concern to see these pups alone.

Pups don't always stay with their own mothers. In one study only 22 percent of the pups nursed only on their own mothers. The rest all nursed on another female, at least occasionally. If a pup dies, the bereaved mother may adopt a separated pup, or even try to steal another mother's pup. At Piedras Blancas, over 90 percent of pups born on the beach survive to be weaned.

This youngster was doing well.

New Year's Day brought a rich migration of food fish to the waters. The waves boiled with dolphins skimming and leaping. Flocks of pelicans and gulls circled and dove into the feast. It was the most boisterous feeding event I've ever witnessed. Some landed on the water, and appeared to scoop up prey from there.

The viewpoint has been crowded with visitors during the holiday season. I hope they have come away with a new appreciation of the importance of protecting the oceans.