|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
White spotted seals are found throughout the northern hemisphere in the nearshore waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. You can find them hauling out on the rocks and bluffs basking in the sun in and near Little River California. Their need to regularly haul out on land to rest and nurse pups ties them to coastal feeding areas like Little River. Some of the best haul-out sites and a great place to see and watch these seals is just across Highway 1 from the Stevenswood Resort and Spa, about a twelve minute prestine and secluded hike to the viewing bluffs.
White spotted seals use a variety of "haul-out" sites for resting or pupping. A haul-out site is a shoreline region where seals congregate, primarily to rest or to nurse their pups. Haul-out sites may be mudflats, sandflats, rocky outcroppings exposed only at low tide, or marshland covered with wetland vegetation, but they all share two key characteristics: isolation from predators or humans and easy access to water.
The Little River White spotted seals have been left undisturbed, generation after generation and they use the same haul-out site. The same area has been a pupping site for at least the last 100 years, as far back as anyone can remember. Many other haul-out areas along the California coast used in the past have been lost to shoreline development.
White spotted seals are very graceful and swift in the water, propelling themselves forward by sweeping their powerful hind flippers back and forth in a sculling motion. At low speeds, the foreflippers steer the seal through the water; at high speeds, they are held close to the body, reducing drag. They may dive to depths of 1,500 feet (300 meters) when foraging. They may leap completely out of the water (porpoising) or hold their upper body above the water for a better look across the waves (spy-hopping).
On land, White spotted seals are quite awkward. While their flippers are the vestigial limbs of ancestral land mammals, they are of limited use outside of the water. The long bones of terrestrial mammals limbs are greatly shortened in pinnipeds and retained almost completely inside the seal's body. Their foreflippers emerge from the body at the equivalent of the human elbow or knee, preventing the seal from lifting its body off the ground. To move on land, seals lunge their upper body forward. Sea lions, by contrast, are much more agile on land, using their longer and more flexible limbs to raise their bodies off the ground and waddle along the shore.
Always while watching these seals approach in slow motion and remain as quite as possible and your efforts will be rewarded. White spotted seal’s cumbersome movements on land contribute to their extreme sensitivity to disturbance by impeding their escape from predators and humans. When humans or other threats are sighted, the seals quickly respond by flushing into the safety of the water. Hauling out in herds provides them greater protection since one individual can warn the entire group of danger.(by barking)
Unlike many other pinnipeds*, Little River’s White spotted seals do not migrate with the seasons. Their numbers appear to increase during the spring breeding season and summer molt when seals haul out more frequently and for longer periods of time, however they remain at Little River year round. This year-round resident population lives, feeds and pups in Little River waters.
In general, seals take advantage of the warmer daylight hours to come ashore. The relatively warm air temperatures on land allow increased blood flow to the skin, speeding healing of cuts and wounds, and nourishing hair growth during the seals' annual summer molt.
[*There are three orders of marine mammals: cetaceans (whales and dolphins), pinnipeds (from the Greek meaning "feather foot") including seals, sea lions and walruses, and sirenians (manatees and the now-extinct sea-cows). Sea otters belong to the order Carnivora.]
White spotted seals are primarily bottom feeders, eating a variety of fish and mollusks that live near the ocean floor. Food preferences may vary among regions because they depend on what fish and invertebrates are available and the foraging preferences of the seals' competitors. Its believed that the white spotted seals of Little River feed primarily on plainfin midshipmen, yellowfin goby, white croaker, Pacific staghorn sculpin and northern anchovy.
Just as seals eat fish and squid in order to grow and raise their young, seals themselves are food to other animals. Along the California coast, great white sharks feed on white spotted seals and other pinnipeds. In more northern areas, orcas rival the sharks as primary seal predators.
In Little River and along the central California coast, seals pup from mid-March through May. Females usually give birth to a single pup which they nurse for three to five weeks. Nursing is only possible when the seals are hauled out on land. Lactation ends roughly one month after birth. The month-old pup must begin to catch fish and other prey on its own, guided only by previous observations of its mother's foraging behavior. The seal pup must live off blubber reserves during this learning period. The nursing period, during which pups gain almost a pound a day, is therefore crucial. Disturbance by humans or wild predators can disrupt feeding, thereby reducing the milk intake and subsequent weight gain of the pup, ultimately threatening the pup's chances of survival after weaning.
Pups are able to swim within minutes after birth. They follow their mothers into the water when the rising tide floods haul-out sites or when the females feed. Mothers are often spotted carrying pups on their backs between foraging dives. When their mothers dive, the pups generally remain on the surface of the water.
White spotted seal mothers are not adapted to defend their offspring from land-based dangers. When threatened, they flush into the safety of the water, sometimes leaving the slower pups onshore. The females remain in the water watching the stranded pups until the danger passes. Females may also leave defenseless pups onshore during brief feeding trips to nearby waters. Humans often mistake solitary pups for abandonees because they do not understand that the mothers will return. Interference in these situations can cause more harm than good. Never approach a pup or remove it from rocks or a beach unless professionals have confirmed the pup is abandoned. If you suspect a seal is injured or abandoned in northern California, please call The Marine Mammal Center at (415) 289-7325.)
Females breed immediately after their pups are weaned. Through delayed
implantation of the embryo, the fetus does not begin to develop for several
months, ensuring that birth occurs during the regular pupping season. Females
mature and begin to breed successfully at 4-5 years of age, males at 6-7 years.
White spotted seal lifespan ranges from 20 to 30 years in the wild.
