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By Julie Scardina, SeaWorld San Diego About a three and a half hour drive north of San Diego is a grouping of islands off the California coast, which have contributed to a miraculous recovery. Earlier this year, Ginny Busch and I met up with Jack Hanna and his crew filming a Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures episode. We actually recommended this spot and story because of our close association with the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the scientists who have been monitoring this amazing breeding spot for more then two decades. Our destination was San Nicolas Island, the outer-most in the Channel Islands chain, located approximately 60 miles offshore from Ventura County, California. A mere 22 square miles, San Nicolas accommodates tens of thousands of animals and four different species of pinnipeds during their most vulnerable times - breeding, birthing and molting seasons. We timed our trip to coincide with the shore arrival of Northern elephant seals. Having studied these animals since 1979, Hubbs researchers Dr. Brent Stewart and Dr. Pam Yochem served as our expert guides during this trip. We learned that just 100 years ago, elephant seals were almost extinct - an amazing reality considering these animals have inhabited the Channel Islands for at least 500,000 years. Sealers and other hunters killed these unsuspecting elephant seals for oil and food, with museum scientists shooting seven of the last eight found on island colonies in Baja California in 1892. Fortunately, there were a few left elsewhere to carry on the species, and due to protection from hunting, they have rebounded today in incredible numbers. We encountered these masses on our visit to San Nicolas Island. Our January visit coincided with the pupping and breeding season - two activities happening simultaneously for thousands of females who car for pups only about a month before accepting a male's vigorous insistance to mate. Then they are off to migrate and feed in colder waters. Later in the year, the same group will return to molt their hair and superficial layers of skin, which comes off in large clumps on the beach. Then they all migrate north once more, until it is time to begin the cycle again. Brent and Pam take turns telling their amazing stories both while the camera is rolling and while it is not. Their dedication to and passion for their subjects and these islands is obvious. Both Hubbs researchers have contributed massive amounts of baseline data about these animals - their movements, health and population dynamics - to the scientific community as well as to the U.S. Navy, who occupies and manages San Nicolas Island. In addition to collecting data from free-ranging animals in the Channel Islands, Dr. Yochem has been sampling for disease exposure in rescued and rehabilitated animals at SeaWorld San Diego. SeaWorld medical technologists help evaluate the results from both groups. Comparing results of blood samples aids scientists in distinguishing between relatively benign incidences and real population health threats. Thanks to cooperation between environmental officers, scientists and the military, the elephant seals continue to thrive. In addition, this protection has benefited other native flora and fauna, such as the tiny San Nicolas Island fox and coreopsis, a unique and rare flowering plant. Protection, knowledge and prudence is part of the story Jack Hanna will tell on his show about how this massive seal was able to reclaim the beaches of San Nicolas. With continued support, another comeback miracle will not be necessary for the remarkable elephant seal. |
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