Journals 2004/2005

Barbara Simon-Waters
East Carteret High School, Beaufort, NC

"Foraging ecology of Northern elephant seals" University of California, Santa Cruz July 11-21, 2004

Journal Index: July 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18       19 - 20 - 21

July 18, 2004

I met Carey at the gate of the lab about 10:20am. She forgot her gate card but fortunately someone else came along that unlocked the gate to the lab. Sam and Ann were already there. Forrest had been fed but LT had not. LT was going to have his "pill" reinserted again. Carey made sure that the foam was larger and triple glued the pill to the foam to reduce the chance of LT passing the pill. Carey drugged LT with Tekazol followed by Ketamine. LT went down slowly but gradually Carey was able to get the pill down into his stomach using the long, orange tube. At first the transmitter could not pick up the signal. Carey and Sam opened LT's mouth ready to reinsert the orange tube but in the process of wiggling, LT had moved the pill into position so now the transmitter was picking up the signal from the pill. We had to wait until the anesthesia wore off before letting LT back into his pool. About an hour later, we opened the doors and LT moved towards his pool. He would get fed at 5pm.

I decided to explore and travel the coast towards Ano Nuevo, Pescadero, and Half Moon Bay. Absolutely beautiful. I stopped at Pigeon Point Lighthouse and walked throughout the complex. I went into the small building that housed a display of the role of the lighthouse during the past 100-150 years. It happens to have the largest (first order) Fresnel lens. On the return trip, I was able to stop more because all the views were on the right side of the road. I also stopped for some organically grown and pesticide-free strawberries. Once back in Santa Cruz, I decided to walk along West Cliff Drive and parked the car on Merced Avenue. I walked all the way to the lighthouse which has been converted to a surfing museum. While watching the surfers near the lighthouse, I noticed two sea otters in the water, not too far from the surfers. My walk lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. I then left for the hotel.

The plan right now is to release Forrest back at Ano Nuevo on Tuesday about 5pm after the tourists have left the beach.