Fur Seals...Daycare

New Zealand fur seals are very social animals.  They live in colonies comprised of either thousands of bull males or...as in this case...dozens of mothers and their pups.  The pups, fifteen of them in the picture above watched by three adult females, gather at tide polls during low tide to play in the water and learn social skills necessary for survival in the colony.

Since the baby seals stay with their mothers into their second year, some of the seals in these photos will be newborns and some will be yearlings.  Carol and Roger disagree about which pups are which, but then neither of us is an expert.

Most of the photos in this post were taken at Whariki Beach, very near the northern tip of the South Island.

When the tide recedes enough for the pups to come out, they clamber down the rocks and jump into the tide pools to swim.

There is always an adult female on hand to keep an eye on the pups.  Remember, female seals give birth to one pup at a time, so this mom is watching more than just her own pup.

We were able to wade out to the pool where the pups were playing.  They initially scurried away.  But we were patient, and the pups eventually came back to the pool.  The pup at the right swam right up to Roger, jumped up onto the rocks at his feet, and sat there completely unafraid for a few seconds before diving back into the tide pool.  Because they seemed so comfortable with us, we assume we were not the first humans they have come in contact with.

Learning social skills at the tide pool.

At home, Roger took his dog Hershey to a nearby school yard for "puppy play group" each morning.  Watching the seal pups wrestle with each other and play tag looked just like Hershey at puppy play group.

Playing the seals' version of tag.

This play is important for learning social skills.  In the photo at the right, the pups are posturing and wrestling...honing the moves they will need when they become adults to win and hold prime breeding territory in the colony.

The males in the colony have a social hierarchy much like wild dogs in their pack.  The alpha males get their choice of breeding females.

These seals are polygamous, and the males have to win the affections of their mates anew each breeding season.  Each year, the alpha males are challenged anew for their positions.

The male seals are mature by age six but don't have enough social status to win a female's affections until they are eight or nine.

Like all toddlers, these seals get tuckered out after an hour or two of play.  This one napped without even crawling out of the tide pool.

The pup in the photo at the left was a special case.  He didn't slide drown the hill into the water with the others.  Instead, he perched on a rock and watched his mates play.  Others eventually came over to his perch and coaxed him down into the water.  He had a right flipper that didn't work, and while he could swim he couldn't keep up with the others.

Both of us hope this was an injury that would eventually heal, but that might not be the case.