Drying up the path

The CCC crew, http://www.ccc.ca.gov/Pages/default.aspx, that built the new trail got some additional gravel and filled the holes in the path Monday. Very welcome, as they were full of water, making the path one deep puddle after another. Thanks!

I and other elephant seal docents joined the crew for lunch on Tuesday. Sebastian's in San Simeon, http://www.yelp.com/biz/sebastians-store-san-simeon, contributed the crew's lunches. Thanks, Sebastian's! These young people have worked very hard to build a new trail and boardwalk for us and the many visitors to the viewpoint. It was a privilege to sit down and meet them. The supervisor told us this trail was the biggest CCC project he had supervised to date.

Thousands of elephant seals have arrived on the beach. It's crowded in places, but the mood is calm and restful. Even the youngsters who tussle with each other don't seem to take it seriously.

The north end of the beach remains narrow. A lot of sand was washed away in last winter's storms. at high tide on Tuesday, little dry land was left untouched by waves. In the past, there's been plenty of room for pups to be born and grow to be weaned. I'm concerned for any pups born on that end of the beach this year.

Glorious Fall day

Does it get any better than today? Sunny but not too warm, light breeze, thousands of seals on the beach. It's a high tide today, just after the New Moon. Even though, it's easy to see how much of the beach remains above the high tide line. They seemed to catch the Fall spirit.

Most rested, some young males sparred. More continued to arrive.

Elephant seals raise their flippers to cool off, the way elephants use their ears. Blood circulates and cools down, helping them stay cool in the sun. They are good at retaining heat under their blubber. Their bodies have fewer ways of dispersing heat, something they need on land but not under water.

Fall Haul-Out

The females and juvenile males return to the beach for a four- to six-week rest in September and October. More seals arrive every day.

These youngsters look healthy and content.

European travelers continue to account for half the visitors, but lots of Americans are taking a fall vacation, too. A nice couple from Florida told me about their experiences with manatees on Monday. Those pups are gentle enough to pet, they said.

The bluff is a great place for bird-watching as well. These Elegant Terns are migrants from Southern California at this time of year. They congregate with the gray Heerman's Gulls, migrants from Mexico, and the resident California Gulls.

The sun is out!

California has been under a very hot high pressure weather system, and Piedsras Blancas has not been spared. On Monday September 27 there was a cool breeze, but the sun was very intense. It's hard on all of us, marine mammals and humans. Temperature records have been exceeded, http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/09/28/1305846/san-luis-obispo-county-tries-to.html. It was 105 in Cambria, where we complain if it gets over 80. Some clouds have moved in today, but our outdoor thermometer is reading 98.


Worse news is that otters on the Central Coast are suffering from a bacterial infection. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Now it turns out that some of these playful marine mammals are also being poisoned by an ancient microbe — a type of cyanobacteria — that appears to be on an upsurge in warmer, polluted waters around the world.The discovery was made by Melissa Miller, a state wildlife veterinarian and scientific sleuth investigating the multitude of things killing otters faster than they can reproduce. The Southern Sea Otter population has dropped for two years in a row, the U.S. Geological Survey announced last month. An estimated 2,711 otters remain in Central and Southern California waters.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/sea-otters-poisoned-by-bacteria.html

This beautiful picture was taken by Lawrence Ho of the LA Times.

Foggy fall

Actually, it's been a foggy summer. John Lindsey, meteorologist for Pacific Gas & Electric, attributes that to the cool water conditions of La Nina combined with persistent northweseterly winds recorded at Diablo Canyon's meteorological towers, http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/09/18/1294247/kelp-enjoying-the-fattest-summer.html. Water temperatures at Diablo have averaged as low as 51 degrees on some days in August. Today, NOAA reports the water temperature at Avila as 55.8 degrees, http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/cpac.html.

Mr. Lindsey's reports are interesting, but should be viewed with some scepticism. His primary purpose is to advocate for his employer, PG&E.

He ties the winds and cool water temperatures to an increased upwelling that has brought nutrients to the coastal kelp forest, producing exceptional growth in the kelp forest.

Monday was foggy on the bluff. It makes the seals look even more magical.

Juveniles are arriving all the time now for their fall haul-out rest. They take four to six weeks on the beach at this time of year. The young of the year return from their first migration. This mixed-age group of young males tops out with a five-year-old. The development of his elephant-like nose, his proboscis, indicates that's about how old he is.

This youngster surfs up on the beach, somewhat wary at the young male already resting there. They made their peace and the newcomer made his way onto the sand.

Docent training

Friends of the Elephant Seal trains its docents in three weekend sessions in the fall. This year, training dates are October 9 and 23 and November 6.

Sign up before Sunday, September 19, www.elephantseal.org.

I've been invited to become a docent mentor, for which I'll spend Saturday morning in training. New docents spend three sessions on the bluff with an experienced docent: observing and practicing under supervision, getting feedback before facing the public alone.

The training is excellent, all locally developed, since there isn't another program like this. When I talk to people, I'm constantly recruiting new docents. "It's a great way to learn the natural history," I tell them.

Elephant Seals in captivity

Elephant seals are deep water animals that spend only part of their time on land. I thought it would be impossible to keep one in captivity. However, another docent found these examples of Southern Elephant Seals being kept in European zoos. The film is of Goliath, who was sent from Hamburg to visit the Basel, Switzerland zoo in 1938: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFe8iL_E34.

He translates the description of the film as:

He was sent by train in a 20 cubic meter crate. It took two days from Hamburg to Basel. He was only there for a visit, but became a big attraction. He weighed in at around 3 tons, was 4 meters in length, and ate 50 kilos of herrings a day while in Basel. You will see him "catching" a few from his trainer in the video. It took 10 men, some winches and a tractor to transfer him from train to wagon to zoo.

This photo was taken in 1975 in the Berlin Zoo. The caption translates into: You don't get to do a tooth check without a bribe of some sort!

In this picture, Roland V gets a 'snowmassage' from his keeper in the Berlin Zoo. It isn't dated.

These photos are remarkable -- for the familiarity the humans have with the seals, and for the fact that the seals survived at all, apparently healthy and content. I plan to research this further and see what I can learn.