Life’s a (Gonzales) beach for moulting elephant seal
It’s like a living, breathing public service announcement: “See, kids? Spend too much time in the sun and this is what happens.”
A moulting elephant seal has taken up residence on Gonzales Beach in recent days and started shedding its skin and fur as part of a completely natural, though slightly revolting, renewal process.
If it looks gross, it’s actually healthier than most of the suntanning that happens at the same location.
The B.C. SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre has roped off the area around the seal and posted bulletins from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans warning people to keep their distance.
“It may look slow and harmless,” the bulletin states, “but it’s capable of moving very quickly and could be dangerous if it feels threatened.”
The Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has been keeping tabs on the seal as well as a few others basking on beaches along B.C.’s coastline.
Lindsaye Akhurst, the centre’s manager, said elephant seals typically moult on beaches in California, but it’s not uncommon for inexperienced juveniles to wind up here.
She said they stay on land for up to four weeks while undergoing a “catastrophic moult” in which they shed their fur and the underlying skin.
“It looks rather nasty, but it is a natural process and we do monitor these guys,” she said.
“When they are hauled out on the beach, they do lose a bit of weight from being out. But as their skin heals and they continue to moult, the top two dermal layers of their skin and obviously their hair, then a nice new shiny coat comes through and they look quite beautiful at that point.”
The seal then returns to the sea for another 11 months, leaving the sunbathing and skin peeling to amateurs.