Help us push for full protection of the La Jolla seals!
March 11, 2010 – 8:13 pmDear Seal Supporters,
Help us push for full protection of the La Jolla seals!
What: NRC hearing to protect the La Jolla Seals
Where: City Council Chambers, 202 C St. 12th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
When: Wednesday, March 17, 1:00 pm
When you arrive, please fill out a comment card for SUPPORT, and put that you waive time for the APRL/LJFS presentation.
The proposal will be to:
1) close the rookery during pupping season
2) guideline rope the rest of the year
3) declare that seal watching is the city’s preferred use for Casa Beach, and encourage MMPA enforcement
Please write to the committee members in advance to ask them to support the seals:
Sherri Lightner
(619) 236-6611
SherriLightner@sandiego.gov
Carl DeMaio
(619) 236-6655
carldemaio@sandiego.gov
Marti Emarald
(619) 236-6677
martiemerald@sandiego.gov
and thank
Donna Frye, Chair
(619) 236-6616
donnafrye@sandiego.gov
for docketing the item! Please cc us at info@aprl.org.
Since the rope is only a guideline, the seals continue to be harassed during their pupping season, federal agents are reluctant to enforce the Marine Mammal Protection Act due to the city’s current unmanageable “shared use” policy for this tiny 200 foot beach, and when the guideline rope comes down on May 15, there will again be a chaotic situation.
Click here to see the Union Tribune’s endorsement of our proposal.
Poster courtesy of Debbie Moncrieff
Report from the beach
Five more pups were born this week:
#31, March 5 at 2:45 PM, large brown mom gave birth to a weak dark pup at South Casa, the pup died shortly after
#32, March 7 at 11:11 AM, difficult birth of a tiny light pup witnessed by Roxy who named it “Angela” after my friend
#33, March 7 at 12:00 PM, “Pearson”
#34, March 9 at 1:40 PM, called “Sneaky” by Heidi
#35, March 11 at 1:35 PM, tiny light pup named “Pudding Pie” by Roxy and Eliysha
Here’s what Roxy told us about Angela’s birth on that rainy Sunday:
The mother seal did about 10 rolls while giving birth. About five of the rolls the baby’s head was sticking out of her and she was rolling the baby’s face into the sand as she rolled over & over.
(I have never seen anything like that – please notice the “mirror” image of both mom and pup)
Once the baby was out, the mother clawed the sack off & bit the baby repeatedly on the face and tail. During the 45 minutes before the placenta came out, she attacked a huge female seal & a fight broke out. The mother seal attacked a juvenile seal, tons of birds & her baby several times making the baby cry & avoid her.
Finally the placenta came out & again, she attacked everything in sight including her baby. The baby took off up hill & the mother was exhausted & just rested & had no response to her baby. Meanwhile the seagulls were attacking the baby biting it’s face, sides, etc. The baby fought back & cried & about 10-15 minutes later mom went & found baby & everything slowly settled down.
The baby went past the rope & mom soon followed.
I’ve seen the baby nurse twice but just for about 2 minutes. Mom is still rattled but resting besides Angela. When I left the beach I was crying it was so emotional, shock stricken & relief all at the same time. There were only about 10
of us left on the beach because everybody was so upset. Everybody thought the mother was going to kill her baby & the birds were going to eat it. Looks like her delivery was very traumatic for her maybe a new mother. I am so relived all is well Angela will be the strongest baby on the entire beach! The delivery was long & painful for mom & the audience. So many visitors left crying & shook up & I wish they would have stayed to witness the mother finally bonded with her new born once she got settled 2 hours later. It was raining hard & unfortunately my lens got water on it.
And here’s a picture of “Sneaky”
Again, here’s Roxy’s story: The baby was born right by the rocks close to the water: super fast delivery. We only new because the seagulls started acting crazy & soon enough started ripping apart their favorite treat “dark chocolate” the placenta. The mom immediately took her baby into the water & about an hour came out & was still all bloody easy to spot because mom is blond with very dark black circles around her eyes. The mom immediately nursed her baby. Heidi named her Sneaky because the delivery was so calm & quick & without the birds alerting us we would have all almost missed it. I think the baby looks similar to Angela when she is wet just about 10 pounds heavier. When the baby dries she is almost snowflake color.
Some of the pups are so fat and big now, that it’s getting hard to tell which one is the mother and which one is the baby unless they nurse
In this picture “Holly” born February 11th. All photos courtesy of Roxann Grant
And the winner of the Steve Breen’s weekly cartoon caption contest is…John Betlejewski of San Diego:
I personally like the third caption by Nancy McRae, Mimi Ewens’ “With the speed the local government is moving with the marine mammal park proposal, our grand, grand children might be safe.” and my own (unrewarded): ” Would an argument “I used to swim here as a child” sound too much of a cliche in our case?”
See you at the meeting!
Dorota
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12 Comments! WOW! Read Below what others are saying.
At the meeting, are you going to have your racist thugs outside the city hall assulting any people who try to enter who don’t believe in descriminitaing against the disabled and minorities like you do?
I mean, you have tyour racist thugs assulting beachgoers at the CHILDREN’S POOL, and you believe in taking away safe swimming from children and the disabled in La Jolla, so I don’t see why you wouldn’t act the same at city hall….
Oh, that’s right, because you are nothing but a bunch of COWARDLY peices of trash who only attack people in the dark.
By Nastey Speargun Hunter on Mar 17, 2010
my goodness Nastey Speargun Hunter: you have a problem…I think you need to go seek some help….the only trash is you….the seals were here long before you…like i said I live in the country….I love my wild turkeys…and deer..and hawks,,etc..what are you going to do come to where I live and kill off my wild life..it would not be put up with ..where I live there are laws to keep the animals safe…
I really feel sorry for you..you are a city slicker in my book…been there…done that…and don’t get smart with me…my daddy raise me to respect to animal life in the ocean…you see I was born in calif…..Keep up the good work for the seals…am proud of you……
By Kimmie on Mar 18, 2010
Actually, you are wrong, how could the seals have been there first, when the beach is artifical? There was no beach until we made it. Prior to that seals were hunted on shore by wolves, tigers, lions, etc. In the water there were sharks and other predators. What has happened is that the population has exploded. Kimmie, if a alligator moved in to your swimming pool, would that be it, no more pool for you, or would you call animal control to remove it. What if a pack of cuyotes were patrolling your neighborhood? What if a bunch or rats moved in? Rats were there first.
Not to mention the LAW. SB 428 guarentees certain things, like “swimming pool for children” and “absolute right to fish”. What’s more is if you go south a couple miles, there is an even bigger colony living in Point Loma. They like to forget about that.
By Frisbee Boy on Mar 18, 2010
Dorota,
Where is that report from Sea World on the seal that you claimed was poisoned? Just like the beach issue you seem to be ignoring facts that don’t support your position.
By John Conner on Mar 18, 2010
Kimmie,
Are you able to write using the English language correctly? You said, “My daddy raise me…” Maybe your daddy should have taught you more about grammar than migration patterns of whales. Also, you love your wild turkeys, deer and hawks. If they are wild than how can they be yours? Your words reveal how you see this issue and these animals. They are not free and wild, they are yours, they are your possessions. How you see these animals is a contradiction to your position.
By John Conner on Mar 18, 2010
Well, I also notice that they keep talking about how all the seals are for the benefit of children. Yet, because the seals eat everything in their path, there are no fish, starfish, sea hares, etc for the children to see. Before we had 100′s of seals on that beach there were awesome sights. Children got to see many unique critters there. We also had world-class diving. Now most everything is gone, except the 1 species of animal. The COMMON seal. Yep, not endangered, not threatened, not even on a watch list. The current global count is approximatily 450,000. Good grief.
John Conner, as for the grammer and spelling etc, I don’t think that is really that big of a deal. Being careless on those things is sorta the way things go now. I don’t check my spelling and grammer, I just type as I go. Is it interesting she calls them “her” animals though. If they are wild, they aren’t anybody’s.
The seals at the Childrens Pool aren’t wild becuase they are cared for, have been aclimated to people (lost their fear of them), and many have spent extended periods of time with Sea World.
In the wild there would be more sick ones, and they would be hunted by predators (and in some countries people).
By Frisbee Boy on Mar 18, 2010
I notice that the activists seem to have the right to name them… since when do wild animals have names?
If they are to be named, why do the activists get to name them?
By cyberKICK on Mar 29, 2010
nice post. thanks.
By ultrasound technician on Apr 28, 2010
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, I bookmarked it.
By educational grants on May 7, 2010
When you order frogs legs at a restaurant what do they do with the rest of the frog ? – Well surely they just throw the rest of the frog away and take it to the tip.
Sent via Blackberry
By R6 lady on Jun 20, 2010
I lived in Monterey for 7 years. I was so happy to see some seals on the beach in La Jolla. It is wonderful they are there.
The hostility is unbelievable. Southern California filled with beaches to swim on-most of the wildlife are gone.
Have you gotten in touch with the Monterey groups? It is a sanctuary-and such a wonderful place for tourists, locals, and especially CHILDREN to watch seals in their natural environment-rather than performing trick at a zoo.
They should post signs to stay away from the animals-like they do in Monterey and Carmel.
Sophia
By Sophia on Aug 17, 2010
excellent post you admit
By Jazmine Darracott on Dec 13, 2010