High tides threaten newborn elephant seals on SLO County beaches
Pup season is in full swing at the Piedras Blancas rookery near San Simeon. It’s a time of excitement at the start of new lives, but the dangers of seal life are always present.
High tides put the newborn pups at risk. At the north end of the viewpoint, the beach has been inundated, even on ordinary high tides.
Combined with the exceptional high king tides of Jan. 10 through 12 and Feb. 8 through 9, pups were getting wet, but none appeared in immediate danger of being washed away.
The pups can swim, but lack the stamina to survive in the ocean. If washed out, skinny young pups without the insulation against heat loss and buoyancy of blubber can drown.
Pups being born at San Simeon rookery
Pups are often born at night, but daytime births are frequent. More than 5,000 pups will be born in the rookery, so you could be in the right place at the right time to see one born.
Females will continue to arrive on the beach to give birth into February.
Once born, the pups need to start nursing. Pups born in December are already being weaned.
Look for rotund, fat pups. Some will learn to steal milk from other mothers, ballooning up to even more than the usual 300 pounds. Those 500-pounders are superweaners.
Pups are willing to nurse from any mother willing to tolerate them. Most pups nurse on at least one mother other than their own.
Not every pup survives, and those bereaved mothers may adopt one or more strays. Some mothers are particular and chase pups other than their own away.
Mothers produce milk from their blubber, losing two pounds for every pound the pup gains.
Stray pups are nursing from a limited source.
Around 95% of pups at Piedras Blancas survive to be weaned.
Elephant seal mothers help newborns survive
Recent data reported by grand old man of elephant seal research Burney le Boeuf indicates that some seal mothers are far and away better than their sisters.
They get pregnant for the first time when they are older than the average, about four years old. That gives them — and the larger pups they gave birth to — a maturational and size advantage.
Those supermoms, only about 6% of all females, gave birth to ten or more pups over their lifetimes.
That made them the progenitors of about 55% of all the pups on the beach at Ano Nuevo, his study beach.
The longest-lived female in the study lived to age 23 and produced 17 pups in her lifetime. Another supermom produced pups in 16 consecutive years.
They were long lived as well as productive.
LeBoeuf is writing a grant to pursue more answers about these supermoms. Although he’s identified their success, he isn’t yet able to say why some do so much better than their sisters.
He was surprised when his long-term study showed that supermoms are responsible for so much of the elephant seal population.
Short-term studies give only a snapshot of elephant seal life. Long-term studies reveal facts that otherwise go unnoticed.
The California Coastal Commission welcomes photos that illustrate the effect of high tides. Submit photos at www.coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/index.html.
California State Parks guided tours
Hearst San Simeon State Park will offer guided tours to see the elephant seals during the breeding season.
Meet up at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at Arroyo Laguna, the ocean side of Highway 1, 2.25 miles north of the Hearst Castle Entrance, 35°39’11.04”N, 121°13’18.83”W on your GPS.
Tickets at the site are first come, first served, and available at the Hearst Castle Visitor Services Office on the day of the tour only. There are no advance sales.
Admission of $13 per person, and children under 5 free. There’s free onsite parking.
The tour includes a 45-minute, easy half-mile guided trail walk, on varied terrain.
The guides will tailor the tour for your interests. Children are welcome. The maximum tour group is 20 people.
Dress for the weather – seals ignore wind and rain – and bring binoculars.
For more information, call 805-927-2010 or visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30298.