[CINC] Wayward Tourist visits Santa Barbara!

[Paul Jr. Petrich]

Dear Volunteers,
 As reported in today's Sunday SB News-Press, Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort recently had an unexpected visit  by  a free-loading tourist from afar: from San Miguel Island, to be  exact.  It appears, a couple weeks ago, some paying customers visiting the  resort's gift shop, wanted to know the  price of the  cute little seal just  outside the  gift shop window. However, it  wasn't for  sale. It was a Northern Fur Seal pup that had swam some 45 nautical miles from a rookery on SMI and CROSSED CABRILLO BOULEVARD, to rest on the resorts grass outside the gift shop window!
 Peter Howorth reports that the  seal pup is now  doing well at the  Santa Barbara Marine  Mammal Center. It is about 4 months old now, and  must have barely  been weaned when it requested lodging, in quite a dehydrated state.
 Peter reports he or she came from one  of two rookeries on the island. This year 1000 pups were counted at the Castle Rock rookery, up from 700 last year. Nearly three quarters of their population  bear pups and breed  in the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea, and only a small fraction of their overall population exist on our SMI. According to Peter, newly weaned pups often spend up to 22 months at sea before returning to their original rookery. Guess this fella or gal had different ideas. But, I do know there are quite a few life-like seal pups by the  gift shop window!      Paul Petrich

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