Nicole Teutschel at UC Santa Cruz, Long Marine Lab--The E Seal Team recovered Sunny’s tags this week! Sunny is a one of TOPP’s featured seals with Elephant Seal Homecoming Days, and for a good reason! When Sunny was 3 years old, she had a packing strap (a plastic piece of garbage) stuck around her arm (or, flipper!) pits. As she grew and got bigger, the strap got tighter, and tighter.

Sunny at her recovery. Photo: Nicole Teutschel

The strap got so tight that it actually cut through her thick skin and down into her blubber layer. Things were getting pretty bad for Sunny a few years ago. Then things got a little brighter.... As she molted, she got skinnier. When ellies (elephant seals) molt, all the old fur falls off, and shinny new fur grows in. During molting season they don’t eat. No fish, squid, octopus, sharks or rays for about a month. That’s how she got skinner, which eventually loosened the strap. She’s a big seal, so the strap didn’t wiggle free on it’s own, however it was loose enough that a researcher snuck up and cut it when she was asleep.  She was then given a flipper tag so that TOPP could keep track of her.
Graduate student, Jason Hassrick, collecting a whisker sample for analysis. Photo: Ashley Pearson.

Sunny was satellite tagged at Año Nuevo State Reserve last spring after she had molted off her fur. Sunny is back from her 8 month foraging trip out in the middle of the North Pacific, and has hauled out at Tarsands Central, a large harem at Año Nuevo. Her tags have been recovered, well sort of. Sunny is a turn-around seal, which means her satellite tags will be left on for a whole year. 8 months down, 4 to go! The E Seal Team did recover her time-depth-recorder tag (TDR) and radio tag (VHF), used to locate her while on shore. When her pup 22 days old, we will sneak back into her harem and give her a new TDR and VHF tag, weigh her and her pup, and collect physiology samples like blood, a little fur, and a whisker.
Graduate student Melinda Fowler measuring blubber thickness using a portable ultrasound machine. Photo: Ashley Pearson.

Melinda hard at work, with Sunny's pup (a boy!) curiously checking out a new face. Photo: Ashley Pearson.

Stay tuned to hear more about Sunny and her son as we document her journey this season!