Surf's Up!

As I sat down on the cliffs of South Rookery yesterday I noticed little black dots floating around in the surf. The dots were too small to be SAMs playing in the surf so I focused in on them with my binoculars and what did I see but this year's pups getting their flippers wet in the surf!!

The above photo isn't that good due to the extreme foggy weather that day but it gives you an idea of what these little guys look like during their first ever plunge into their soon to be element of choice. Come late September and early October these newbie swimmers begin to push the rookery boundaries to include protected coves and kelp beds. It is at this time when one can don a dry suit (and some cold water courage!) and get up close without intruding on the rookery limits.
The above photo was taken just in the shallow waters right in front town by Anchorage photographer and friend Nathaniel Wilder and shows perfectly what this unforgettable experience is like!


Current Count 8/13:
Females: 1,237
Pups: 2,137

Last Count 8/7:
Females: 1,307
Pups: 2,299

Last Pup Born! (maybe)

I should have posted photos of females giving birth to their pups at the height of the pupping season but just recently an event occurred that has given me the excuse to do this now. The last pup of the year (we think) was witnessed being born. This is what the event looks like...

almost there!

Poor little guy was born right into a puddle!

Invasion of the SAMs

Yesterday was the second day in a row that I have seen non-breeding males (aka sub-adult males or SAMs for short) actually in the rookery. For the first half of the fur seal breeding season, SAMs are blocked from entering rookery limits by aggressive territorial beachmasters. Now that we're halfway through the season, beachmasters are no more the aggressive bulls they once were and that is leading to more SAM activity within the rookery.

Take a look at the photo. The four wet seals in the top left are SAMs. Notice how none of the large beachmasters in the photo are even paying attention to the SAMs presence. If these four SAMs had tried this last month they wouldn't of even made it out of the water before being attacked by the nearest beachmaster.

So what's the big deal you're asking? Well, here's the issue. SAMs can look very much like adult females. This makes it difficult for female counts, for example. Suddenly the counter has to constantly check to make sure the animal being counted is in fact female in order to provide accurate data. In this photo you might pass off all the wet seals as SAMs but the seal nearest the dry beachmaster is in fact an older female! Don't worry though! You Earthwatchers will be masters at SAM-female differentiation by the time you leave St. George!

So why don't these SAMs leave the rookery alone, after all most of them aren't even old enough to breed? What you come to notice through observation is that the large SAMs are most interested in the rookery in order to practice being a beachmaster for the season they actually start staking territories and breeding females. These SAMs can be large and on occasion be mistaken for actual beachmasters. See photo to the left to see a larger SAM.

The younger SAMs are more of a mystery. They seem to be constantly playing/harassing the pups, being "lifeguards" in rough surf when the pups are learning to swim, and every so often touch noses and hang around a female that could very well be their mom.

Current Count 7/29:
Females: 1,070
Pups: 2,656
Note how the female count fluxes considerably. This is due to females now being well into their foraging trip routine.

Last Count 7/25:
Females: 1,255
Pups: 2,337

Fog and St. George go hand in hand

FOG ... It just happens here. A lot.

Clear and calm days are a rare deal and really spectacular when they happen. I just want to make sure that Earthwatchers who are coming are bringing good waterproof boots and rain gear. Also, just prepare yourself for the possibility of your Pen Air flight being delayed or even canceling due to bad weather. It's never a pleasant thing and puts a kink in plans but it does happen and it's best just to go into it being flexible.

On the rookery even the densest fog doesn't impede work. What really does us in is the wind. Since the rookery faces southwest, even a hint of wind from that direction mixed with a little precipitation wets the binoculars and really makes it a hard time to see what's happening below.

To get an idea of what kind of weather to expect check out the website below: http://www.wunderground.com/US/AK/Saint_George_Island.html . Everyone on island uses it since it seems to be the most accurate.

Current Count 7/25:
Females: 1,255
Pups: 2,337

Last Count 7/20:
Females: 1,338
Pups: 2,217

Pup Pods

I figure you must be scratching your head a little at the title so I'll just go ahead and dive right into it.

Right now on all the rookeries about 95% of the females have arrived on shore, given birth to a pup, and are well into their foraging routines. What that last bit means is now that the pups are born moms have to leave the rookery to feed in order to provide good quality milk for their young. While they're gone the pups are left on the rookery to fend for themselves. Now that sounds like a dangerous deal and it can be if mom doesn't return for some unknown reason but really the pups have got it all figured out. What ends up happening is the pups form massive "pods" (sometimes hundreds strong!) in order to stay warm, keep close, play, and in general stay out of the way of everyone else (i.e. the sometimes aggressive males and females).

Once mom returns from her trip for food she immediately starts calling for her pup. The pup usually hears the call immediately and then begins its journey to find mom. The mother's call is the first thing a pup learns. Moms on the other hand have to learn the unique call of their own pup in order to hear it over thousands of others. It's really quite fascinating.

While you are here you will undoubtedly see this take place and it's always fun to cheer the little pup on to find mom.

44.6 degrees...no problem; a pup's first swim

It's official! Today at the rookery I witnessed 2 pup's first attempts at 'swimming'. Okay, clarification, they weren't actually swimming rather they were more like flapping their flippers around in a big puddle. But that counts!

Every year the pups always amaze me when they dare to jump into what I would consider freezing temperatures. Somehow they manage. If it weren't for their dense fur it would be impossible without substantial layers of fat.

Right now the pups are black but over the next month they will start to shed and the black will be replaced by a sleek, silver colored 'swim coat'. The new swim coat will allow the pups to venture further out into the water to help them hone their swimming skills. By November, if all goes according to plan, they take off into the icy blue-green water for winter. It all starts with splashing in a puddle!

Check out this up-to-date compilation of Alaska's water temps. That's right, it's the end of July and the water is maxing out at 44.6 degrees here on St. George! brrrr...


Current Count 7/20:
Females: 1,338
Pups: 2,217

Last Count 7/14:
Females: 1,673
Pups: 1,824

Harems

Above is a photo that perfectly depicts what is happening on the rookeries right this moment. See the large napping beachmaster just right of center? All the females surrounding him are a part of his harem.

So what is a harem? A harem is a congregation of females bred by a single male. The size of a beachmaster's harem can vary greatly in size from as small as 1 female to as many as 50. Beachmasters are extremely territorial and constantly 'patrol' their borders to prevent other beachmasters from intruding and stealing a female or two for their own harem.

Once a female gives birth to her pup she goes into estrus and is bred almost immediately by the beachmaster whos harem she is in. This harem structure multiplied many times across an area is what defines a rookery.