The Puppies Are Coming!

So after our first fur seal pup was born last week (earlier than usual), we
have had a bit of a lull in births. It is actually a good thing probably,
since the weather has been less than pleasant. Tonight (friday night) is
probably the nicest it has been all week at 31F with only 6mph winds and no
snow coming down. It did snow off and on all day, but with less wind (less
being very relative, it was only in the teens and low 20s mph) it is not
too bad to deal with at this point. I have been adjusting to the cold and
can at least run out to pee or get food from the supply hut in just a long
sleeve shirt if needed, though much longer and it does still get pretty
cold...

Anyway, back to the pups. Our first one that was born just over a week ago
we actually though did not make it through the storms. We had not seen it
with its mother in several days, which were during the worst of the
blizzard. HOWEVER, just yesterday Kevin (another one of the pinniped people
here) found the pup, still alive, down the beach a little ways cuddling
with a block of ice. He returned the pup to its mom and they immediately
reunited, calling to each other, and rubbing and what not. We walked by
about an hour later and the little girls belly looked ready to pop it was
so full of milk. She probably had not eaten in several days.

I guess this brings up a little bit of a controversy when you live and work
in a place like this. Most people probably would not question the story I
have just told you, but some might, biologists especially. By returning the
pup to its mom Kevin directly changed the outcome of that animals life.
Typically biologists are supposed to remain at a distance from the things
they study. It can be extremely challenging at times, especially when their
subjects are so damn cute. There are people that would argue we should have
let nature take its course and let the pup die. In many ways they might be
right. Natural selection can be cruel, but it tends to favor those most
suited for the current environment. You could argue that, since this female
gave birth so early, her pup was subjected to the storm that other pups
avoided by being born late. If this pup survives, it may tend to give birth
earlier than other females, thus creating a positive feedback that may or
may not be beneficial to the species. At least that is usually the
arguement people make. Just like how saving a sick animal can weaken a
population as a whole and potentially add diseases to the group that
otherwise would have been weeded out.

That being said, when you are faced with a moral dilemna like that, it is
near impossible to say no, especially in a place like this. I dont
think have talked too much about the fur seals themselves we are studying
here so far. This island was recolonized by fur seals I believe in the 50s
or 60s. Their numbers had been driven way down by humans hunting them for
fur, meat, and over competition for food and whatever else people blame
animals for. They reached a peak abundance here in 2002 and 2003 when the
Cape was crawling with them. However, since then we have seen a decrease of
about 10% each year and it continues to get worse. Leopard seal populations
responded to the increase in fur seals (among several factors probably) and
are the main cause of death of these pups. Each year, the researchers here
will be subject to watching 60-90% of the pups they observe born and raised
die here before they ever go for their first foraging trip. It is the harsh
reality of the natural world and this is a place where fur seals are losing
the battle. It is the reason that penguins march by our camp everyday,
trekking probably over a mile, maybe more, instead of swimming around the
shallow bays and coves to get to their colonies from their hunting grounds.
Around here, leopard seals rule supreme.

So again, I will say I stand behind moving the pup and I would have done it
myself if I were there. We are here to study this group of animals, but I
think we are all hoping it recovers and survives. The pup was not sick or
weak, it got separated from its mother during a heavy storm. It may have
even found its way back eventually as the weather got nicer and calls could
be heard further away. And while I do not want to alter the breeding
behavior of animals here, climate change is in full effect here. Krill
populaitons have moved and gotten smaller (mostly the krill themselves are
smaller), peak pupping time actually has been getting earlier and earlier
for the fur seals. Contrary to most places in the world, Antarctica has
actually been getting colder these last couple years, but it doesnt mean
that the global changes will not directly affect the animals. So maybe its
good to have a few outliers, because if things do change suddenly (sudden
on an evolutionary scale), it is usually these outliers that become the
last hope of a species. If every single salmon returned to the stream it
was born in, or every sea turtle to the beach it hatched on, salmon and
turtles could never colonize new streams and beaches. If you put a damn on
that river or a hotel on the beach, you could wipe out a species. There is
a far greater than not chance that pup will not survive to its first
birthday, I say giving it a little boost early on is not the worst thing in
the world.

On a happier note, the weather seems to be lessening up a little and with
it more females have begun arriving and pupping. I now have 2 pups on my
beaches and was actually informed another was born after I had completed my
surveys. These tiny little things look like kittens with flippers and have
an adorable little trilly purr call back and forth with their mothers.
Pretty soon the beaches will be littered with them and then the real work
for us begins. We may not be saving every single one, but hopefully our
work here informs people on what is happening to their population and
allows managers to make decesions that will one day protect this species
here, and throughout the Antarctic.