A large percentage of the marine mammals rescued by The Center
are young pups that are separated from their mothers. Separation
can occur due to harassment or disturbance, such as when a person
picks up a young harbor seal pup thinking the mother has abandoned
it, or due to fierce storms that cause erosion of beaches and
heavy surf.
From mid-February through the end of June, approximately,
our rescue and rehabilitation work is focused primarily around
the care for orphaned elephant seal and harbor seal pups.
Generally, this is the busiest season at The Center.
Elephant
Seal Pups | Harbor
Seal Pups | Pup
Care | Otariid
Pup Care
Elephant Seal Pups
The normal lactation period for a pup is 22-29 days. The mother
stays with her pup during the whole period and does not go
out to sea to feed. The mother's milk has very high fat content
(50%), which produces a thick blubber layer in the pup, in
order to sustain itself once it is weaned. The pup will have
grown from a birth weight of 75-90 pounds to a weight of approximately
250 pounds at the end of the lactation period. The largest
recorded weight of a weaner was 525 pounds. The time between
being weaned and foraging in the ocean is usually two to three
months. During this time the pup loses a considerable amount
of weight, living off the stored fat. This is a period of
learning to swim and forage in shallow waters near the rookery
beach.
The Center admits both orphaned pups (separated from the
mother prior to being weaned) and weaners (nursed for most
or all of the lactation period). Usually the animals are washed
away from the rookery during a storm and found stranded on
public beaches or along the rocky shorelines. The orphaned
pups, sometimes "blackcoats" (pups are born with
a lanugo or pelage of longer black fur), are still in the
nursing stage and are not ready to eat fish. Their teeth have
not yet developed and/or they are extremely underweight and
cannot digest fish. The weaners admitted to The Center usually
weigh 80 pounds or less. Some may already know how to eat
fish. Back to Top
Harbor Seal Pups
The normal lactation period for harbor seal pups is about
four weeks. The average pup will double its birth weight to
approximately 50 pounds by the time it is weaned. Unlike elephant
seals, harbor seal pups can swim and dive almost immediately.
Unlike elephant seal mothers, harbor seal mothers will continue
to feed during the nursing period. Often, the mother will
"stash" the pup on the beach while she goes out
to sea. It is because of these brief separations of mother
and pup that The Center admits a large number of harbor seal
pups as "orphans" every year. Often well-meaning
citizens who believe that a pup has been abandoned find these
pups.
Pups admitted at The Center range from newborns with umbilical
cord still attached (some born prematurely with their lanugo
coat of longer, silky, white fur that is normally shed prior
to birth) to weaners with a full set of teeth who have already
learned to eat fish. Back to Top
Pup Care At The Center
Most of the harbor seal pups come to The Center at a very
early age, and their immune system may not be completely developed.
As a result, special precautions were designed to protect
pups from diseases that could be transmitted from the other
pinniped patients. Harbor seal pups are cared for in an indoor/outdoor
facility at The Center, which keeps them separated from all
other patients and it is not open to visitors. The day and
night crews that care for these pups are also not allowed
to work with any of the other animals on site while on harbor
seal shift.
Pups are prescribed feeding regimes depending on their age
and species. During their stay at The Center, elephant seal
and harbor seal pups progress from tube-feedings,
to fish school
to free-feeding.
Pups are weighed twice a week. Once a pup attains a certain
weight (130-160 pounds for elephant seal pups and 40-50 pounds
for harbor seal pups), it will be considered for release.
Normally this is after three months of hospital care. Other
factors determining the release of an animal are satisfactory
results of blood and fecal analyses, and normal behavior. Back to Top
Otariid Pup Care
Sea lion and fur seal pups are very rare at The Center, due
to the distant locations of most of their breeding grounds.
However, we have rehabilitated several California and Steller
sea lion pups. Because of the length of the nursing period,
attempts are made to bottle-feed the pups. Sea lion pups are
usually kept for several months, until they are weaned and
competing for fish. If they cannot fend for themselves in
the wild, they may be placed in a zoo or aquarium. Back to Top
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Orphaned
Pups 