April 20, 2016
Earlier in the day, after we first anchored in Mutton Cove, we heard noises outside. Rich asked, “Are those birds or kids?” We went to look and discovered that amid the rocks next to us were fur seal pups. Once we really started looking, we could see them all over the place! We sat and watched for awhile, amused at all the grunting and squealing noises they made. We didn’t see many adults, and the ones we did spot were fast asleep, probably wishing the noisy kids would be quiet. We did see one pup nursing, and another that looked newborn. It was thrilling having this front row seat to nature’s show.
Later, while having pre-sundowners (before our actual sundowners), we were watching the pups again. It seems when the sun dips behind the hill, it’s the pups’ signal to head to the water to play. As soon as they were in, the frolicking began.
We watched while the pups played, sometimes jumping completely out of the water, sometimes doing a headstand with just their tails in the air, and always jumping around. Often, they seemed to go in sync with the music we had on, enough so we were inspired to film it.
During this time, we didn’t see any parents around–they were probably sill sleeping or maybe out looking for dinner. Oddly, there was one shag hanging around, looking as if it were a lifeguard overseeing the pups. Can different species of animals babysit for each other? It sure looked that way.
This surprise cocktail show was one of the highlights of our time in the Abel Tasman. It was such a beautiful warm evening, and the angle of sunlight made for bright silvery rings of water around the cavorting pups. –Cyndi (Below, a gallery of photos you can click to enlarge.)
