Ellie the Elephant Seal
The island has taught me many things since I decided to call it home 7 years ago. One of the hardest lessons has been to accept the cruelty of nature.
Periodically in February and March Two Harbors will have an elephant seal haul up on the beach. Many times they are sick or injured and have decided to make the Isthmus Cove their final destination. Living in such a rural area we are exposed to nature’s bitter side and it is sometimes hard to witness even though we tell ourselves that “it’s just Nature taking it’s course”.
Last Sunday was such a day. We had a juvenile female elephant seal show up. She looked plump and healthy but something was wrong, she wasn’t just here for a siesta. Maybe she ingested too many plastic bags. Maybe she had a fishing hook stuck in her throat. The possibilities were endless and none of them were good. Those of us who have dealt with this type of heartrending circumstance before put on our tough skins and resisted the urge to help the child. We told ourselves (for lack of anything better) “it’s what Nature intended.” Visitors who were new to the experience insisted that something could and should be done. We empathized and tried to educate them on the reality of the situation - nothing could or would be done.
Marine mammal rescue centers and other authorized agencies will only consider assisting a seal if the infliction is caused by man (i.e. tangled in fishing net, shot, wrapped in monofilament, etc…) or if they are a danger/hindrance to people. Because of the Marine Mammal Protection Act only authorized agents are allowed to come within 50 feet of a marine animal and assist one in need. If your not trained there isn’t much you could safely do anyhow.
On the mainland you see “rescues” happen all the time and it’s pretty much taken for granted that if there is a seal in need someone will come and help. The average person has the ability to do something - even if it’s just making the call - and doesn’t have to just witness a dying animal and hope that it’s suffering will end with it’s next breath. On the island we are not so fortunate. Sure we would try to de-tangle an animal if possible but this one just appeared to be sick.
I love animals and I say a prayer everytime a seal hauls up on the beach. I hope that it’s just here to rest and then I cry every time one passes away. I try to console myself with the same logical “Nature” argument I use on everyone else but it still hurts. And I make phone calls. Over time I have learned not to bother calling if the creature is dying of natural causes because no one will come. If a seal shows up with a man-inflicted wound I’ll call but I have never had anyone actually come out to help. Apparently mainland operations have difficulty finding appropriate transportation out to the island in a timely manner. So, those of us living in this idyllic place must just suffer with the animal until it passes.
This brings me to the little elephant seal that hauled up on the beach at Isthmus Cove last Sunday. She has now been here for 7 days. At first it looked like the same old painful situation. With my jaded attitude I put on my tough skin, made a few calls, kept people away, started spouting my hallow, empathetic ”Nature” argument to concerned passerbys and we watched her.
From the beginning she had been itching a donut sized patch of skin on her side and it started to attract flies. Over the next few days the spot started to get raw and by Friday the skin peeled off and it looked pretty bad. She would stay above the hightide line on the beach and once a day she would travel to the waters edge and stick her face in the water however she would never get in (no matter how hard we wished it for her). Then on Friday she got in the shallows for a short time and swam around under the pier. She was starting to look better, move around more, and we became hopeful. By this time I had given the girl a name - Ellie. This morning (Sunday) Ellie was in the shallows again and munching on kelp (I don’t know if elephant seals eat kelp but I’m taking it as a good sign) and her sore appears to be healing.
I hate to get my hopes up but things are looking good for Ellie. I am hoping in a few more days she will return to the water and be on her way. Maybe I’m just deluding myself but it’s better than the alternative and I’ll take what I can get.
You are probably asking why I felt the need to put this story into writing, especially since it really doesn’t have an end - yet. The story of Ellie points out that in the face of Nature’s cruelty the human soul is compelled to help the suffering. We are outraged by indifference, we create organizations to assist, we expect someone to do something. But in Ellie’s case it appears that the majority of the suffering has been ours alone. It seems she just needed a place to rest and mend. The most we should offer is the space to do it. So, the phrase “let Nature takes it’s course” isn’t necessarily a negative thing anymore. Now at least it has the potential to be positive and I want to thank Ellie for the lesson.
March 25, 2009
Just an update….
Ellie is still hanging out on the beach and swimming each morning. I have learned recently that Ellie is probably about 3-4 months old and newly weaned. Elephant seal pups are weaned around February and usually hang out on their colonies beach for a few months after weaning before venturing into deeper water and hunting for their own food. Until they learn to catch their own food they live off their stored fat (and Ellie has plenty of that)!
I’m not sure why she is on our beach or where she came from but if she plans on sticking around for a month or two it will get increasingly more difficult to keep people away as we get more visitors. This morning I had a group of students from Palomar College go out kayaking so I set up 11 kayaks on the beach. Ellie claimed one kayak for herself so I had to set up another one for the group. She seems to enjoy the company of people.
I’ll keep you posted.
April 25, 2009
A final post…. Ellie has moved on. When I checked on her in the evening of Tuesday, April 21st she was down on the east end of the beach. This was a new place for her to go. She was swimming in the shallows as usual but spent much longer in the water. I said my good nights as she looked up at me with her big beautiful eyes and the next morning she was gone. Wednesday, Earth Day, I walked the whole length of the beach to see if she was sunning elsewhere but I didn’t find her. The next day she was still gone so I took down the signs and caution tape as I said a silent prayer and wished her well on her new journey. She was a welcomed distraction to my work day and I will miss her.
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I would like to thank Michele Hunter, Director of Operations/Animal Care at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach for taking an interest in our Ellie. To learn more about elephant seals please visit their website at www.pacificmmc.org .
Other informative websites are:
www.topp.org/species/elephant_seals
Posted by Hilary Boyce on March 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Island Update, Two harbors Events |
Thanks Hilary. These are tough things to deal with, we had a similar situation at Descanso Beach this winter.
Just an update….
4/7/09 - Ellie is still here. She is swimming more and for longer periods of time. We are getting busier so we posted a sign by her with her story and another sign (provided by our Baywatch unit - thanks Joel!) that has a more official message regarding the legalities of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Most people are being respectful of her space but she is so cute you just want to give her a big squeeze! Hopefully she’ll take off here pretty soon and go on her instinctual venture north.
Another update…
4/13/09 - Ellie is still hanging out. We had another baby elephant seal here the last two days but she was in pretty bad shape and passed away last evening. She was suffering so it’s for the best and the high tide carried her out during the night. It reminded me how extraordinary Ellie’s story is.
Go Hilary! Keep and eye on Ell ie for us until our next visit. If she leaves before we return, give her a “safe journey and following seas” wish for us. Nature can be cruel, yes, but also amazing (witness the HUGE Spanish Shawls we saw yesterday in our Secret Spot). Also the Island butterfly fish and healthy sea fans. Nature is church, exploring it is almost a religion. You know what I mean. See you soon!