Male Elephant Seals: Island Swap

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots, at various times from the N, W, S, and E.
  • Water: calm
  • Sky: overcast, then rain, then sunny.

Ecological

  • Chuckles spent the day lying on the grass on the SE corner of Great Race.
  • Chunk attempted to mate with the grieving mother in the morning.
  • After mating, Chunk chased the new female and seemed to wound her slightly, before giving up the chase and going into the water.
  • Chunk spent the rest of the day on Middle Rock with the mother and pup.
  • The newest (fourth) pup is still doing well.

Maintenance

  • Finished stacking firewood under the stairs of the Students’ House.
  • Hauled away many small chunks of wood from near the ramp.
  • Noticed that the wind direction meter seems to be malfunctioning at the Davis Weather Station. Looking into what can be done.

Boats

  • One eco-tour boat passed by at 14:00 heading West, before returning at 15:30. At times it seemed to be closer to the rocks than is permitted.
Closer than the mammal watching guidelines?

Closer than the mammal watching guidelines?