It’s mammal day! First, reader Marilee Lovit sends an adorable pinniped:
This harbor seal pup (Phoca vitulina) came ashore on the Maine coast May 23, apparently quite newborn in the first two photos. The white coat is the lanugo. A baby seal alone on the shore may have been left there temporarily by its mother while she goes fishing. But this baby was left on the same rock ledge for 5 days, napping and sometimes crying, while other mother-baby pairs were seen as usual swimming together and hauling out on other nearby ledges to nurse. On the fifth day, this seal pup was rescued, gently placed in a crate and transported to a marine rehab facility hours away in Massachusetts. He (we now know it is a boy) is being fed, is doing well, and is paired up with another abandoned pup. The two pups are suckling and napping together, and will be released when they are ready.
May 23:
May 23;
May 26:
May 27:
BTW, the last photo ([below] was just before the rescue and you can see hair on the rock, part of the lanugo being shed. Several bald eagle nests are in the vicinity and they were keeping an eye on this potential meal. Usually, but not always, they wait for seals to die before they dig in. I have been told that baby seals have teeth and can defend themselves a bit, but we found out this pup was probably premature and its teeth were just coming in.
May 28:
And regular Diana MacPherson shows us that spring is back in Ontario, doe her chipmunks and hummingbirds are active once again.
Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) Visiting Feeder During Cold, Rainy Day:
Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) Enjoying a Sunflower Seed:
Nice photos and thanks for rescuing the seal pup!
Did we ever decide what the mystery bird from the other day was?
Not that I know.
‘Abandoned pup’ sounds like an heartless mother. Seals are what sharks and orcas eat. It seems more likely that mom got nommed leaving her baby to get the same from whatever can climb the rock ledge. Isn’t nature wonderful? Good to know that there’s benevolent god in heaven. At least this time there’s an almost happy ending for the pup.
We don’t know what happened to the mother. This pup was obviously only rescued because it was in a place seen by people. Surely there must be others even nearby that will be eagle food. They will not go to waste.
Yes indeed; happy ending for the pup, but unhappy ending for the eagles. What Jason Rosenhouse calls the cruel and savage bloodsport (of evolution). Though in this case, I’m on the side of the pup; the eagles can find other food this time.
That seal pup is a cutie!
We try so hard here in the middle of Saint Paul to get humingbirds – feeders, flowers, habitat. They just don’t seem to come. Jealous.
🐾
Sea pup is very cute. And great chipmunk as usual, Diana. Hummingbirds are just getting settled into our neighborhood.
I love the way Diana brushes her little chipmunks with soft, teeny toothbrushes before a photo shoot! Makes them look so spiffy!
I suspect she even uses a little mouse, I mean mousse. 🙂
The chipmunks do that themselves while living in their little chipmunk holes where they watch TV and have little chipmunk beds for when they are torpor.
And I’m sure their toilet paper is installed correctly.
I hope so too but I think they use toilet paper that comes out like Kleenex tissues because they don’t have a lot of room for the TP to swing freely.
LOL!
They must watch Alvin and his buddies…
They probably have the boxed set.
Wow, I was surprised to see the pup still had his umbilical cord- “quite newborn” indeed. I’m glad he was rescued; I’m a sap for happy endings.
I want to cuddle that pup!! I hear seals have very smelly pee. I don’t know why I thought of that when I thought of cuddling the pup….maybe I think he’d be smelly from living in the sea. 🙂
But I would assume that the seals would pee in the water??
Oh, that seal pup is achingly cute! I assume that’s the umbilical cord in pic 2? Such lush lanugo! I’m so glad he was rescued.
Diana, I love the way your hummer shot shows those teeny tiny feet they have.
Conversely, the chipmunk’s back feet look clown-sized in that pic. 😀