2009 Births

1. November 21, 2008 The first premature pup of the season was born this morning and only lived a few hours.
2. January 25, 2009 4:30 PM. Stillborn pup. Confused mom tried to protect her dead pup and the afterbirth from the birds. She finally went into the water and came back to the pup a few times before giving up.
3. January 29, 2009 10:50 AM. Pup born in the center of the beach between the seawall and the bluff, right at the water line. Mother is large, dark brown, pup is silver. Pup was named Chance by a Minnesota's couple for their 15 month old son who was on his dad's back. Sadly, Chance died shortly after birth. The mother was quite indifferent and still for at least 15 minutes after the birth, totally ignoring the pup, despite the fact that sea gulls hovered around the pup until they got the afterbirth. The mom didn't seem to notice the birds or offer any protection to the pup. It was later noted that the mom had a fish hook in her mouth which obviously caused her significant distress and could have explained why she couldn't remove the placenta herself. The pup was seen drifting in the shallow water with part of the umbilical cord still attached. The pup was then was washed out or swam out to deeper waters after which no one saw it again. 
4. January 29, 2009 11:50 PM. Pup born beyond the rope at the far end of beach. Pup died, most likely abandoned by mother. Births before the second week in February generally are premature.
5. February 1, 2009 4:35 AM. Pup born by the rope, close to the sea wall. Small brown mother gave birth to light pup, named Bubbles. Around 7:00 AM, mom and pup were observed bonding, pup suckling, mom observed taking pup for first swim, etc. On February 2, Sea World rescued the pup which apparently had been abandoned. The pup is doing well under Sea World's care and will be released once it has gained some weight and is able to survive on its own. Pup was released in the Pt. Loma kelp beds on May 22 .

   First Pup 2009!		First Pup Swimming!

6. February 5, 2009 between 5-6 AM. Stillborn pup born about midway between the rope post closest to the seawall and the submarine rock.
7. February 14, 2009 5:15 AM. Valentine's Day arrival was named Valentino. Pup is healthy and chubby. After just one month, it is easy to spot Valentino because he is the largest pup on the beach.
8. February 15, 2009 2:30 PM. Pup born halfway between the water and the rope line. The pup is a black spotted color and the mom is also black with spots and her belly is slightly lighter. It was an easy birth, and visitors were treated to a wonderful experience as they saw the mom and pup touching noses and the pup nursing.
9. February 15, 2009 2:10 AM. Healthy black pup born by the rope line and is beige with a black mask and looks like a Pekinese dog. Pup was named Olive by a Seal Watch volunteer.
10. February 15, 2009 6:40 AM. Pup was named Kaze (Japanese for storm or stormy) by a Seal Watch volunteer.
11. February 16, 2009 4:55 PM. Live birth of silver and black pup. A visitor suggested name of Nekton. Pup is healthy and started nursing after 20 minutes.
12. February 17, 2009 3:15 AM.  Silver colored pup born. It went for is first swim at 6:32 AM.
13. February 17, 2009 No documentation available on this pup.
14. February 17, 2009 3:02 PM.  Silver/black pup born and went swimming with mom at 6:10 PM.
15. February 18, 2009 5:03 AM. Pup born and named Dawn to wish Dawn Hilbert a speedy recovery.
16. February 22, 2009 7:40 AM. Pup born right against the sea wall.  A lady visitor called the pup Ariel.
17. February 23, 2009 12:31 PM. Healthy pup born and named Marco by lifeguard Koch.
18. February 23, 2009 2:00 PM. Almost black pup born to spotted brown and black mom. While sea gulls devoured the afterbirth of Pup Marco, Cindy Benner and Deborah Cohen (new docent from Laguna Beach who has worked at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center for seven years and been a docent there for three years) turned their heads and just missed the birth of another healthy pup. Since Deborah had just completed her training, she named this pup Selkie. Selkie is the Scottish word for seal. The legend goes that a “selkie” is a seal that can shed her skin and be human for a time. She must hide her skin so she can go back to her life at sea. For more information on this interesting legend, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie.
19. February 24, 2009 5:45 PM. Sonny, named by a female visitor who photographed the birth, was born on West Casa Rock (behind the sea wall), a rather precarious birth place.  He struggled for over two hours to haul out. Mom was able to push the pup back up on South Casa Beach at 7:45 pm where they rested all night.  Mom and pup left the beach at 7am the next day.
20. February 25, 2009 5:40 AM. Black/silver pup born. A US veteran requested named the pup Ringles because it has a ring around its neck. Pup is healthy and bonded with mom very quickly. Ringles went swimming 45 minutes after birth.
21. February 25, 2009 5:02 PM. Big and brown pup born and named Shane in honor of the first son, Shane, born to LJFS docent Sabina Sood and her husband. Baby Shane was born on Feb. 13, a month ahead of schedule. Seal pup Shane took his first swim at 5:18 PM.
22. February 26, 2009 5:45 AM. The pup is black and big, and went swimming with mom 45 minutes after birth with the rising tide. Pup was named Faith as it reflects the "faith" that is seeing Dawn and Otis Hilbert through this difficult time.
23. February 26, 2009 6:42 AM. Born at South Casa Beach behind the sea wall. Pup was named Princess and was healthy and all black in color. Mom and Princess were able to swim back to Casa Beach by noon. This pup was later rescued by Sea World on March 1, but died on March 3.
24. February 27, 2009 5:22 AM. Black/silver pup, born way past the rope barrier. A lady visitor requested the pup be named Dario. Pup took its first swim with mom at 8:45 AM.
    February 27, 2009 LJFS, friends and family lost Dawn Hilbert to acute

    Dawn & Otis Many Thanks

    leukemia and a stroke. Spending their winters in La Jolla every year away from the cold in their home state of Minnesota, Dawn was part of the docenting team of Dawn and Otis. Dawn had a vibrant, energetic, outgoing and smiling personality which meant Dawn made friends easily, everywhere, and in abundance. She loved her friends, and everyone loved Dawn too. She will be missed by all.
25. February 27, 2009 11:15 PM. Gray/black with black mask. Pup was named Milo and is a bit small, but quite healthy. Milo and mom went swimming an hour after birth.
26. February 27, 2009 10:15 AM. Pup named Shelley by San Diego Police Department officers in honor of CAPT Shelley Zimmerman. This pup was rescued from South Casa Beach by Sea World on March 1 and died on March 22.
27. March 1, 2009 5:15 AM. Pup born on South Casa Beach and named Light (NOOR).
28. March 1, 2009 3:05 PM. Pup born.
29. March 1, 2009 5:15 PM. Pup born.
30. March 4, 2009 4:15 AM. All black pup born. Pup bonded well with its mom and went swimming at 7:10 AM.
31. March 4, 2009 4:19 AM. Pup was born at and named Hanna by a morning walker .The pup is silver/brown, and the mother has the same coloring. Pup and mom went swimming at 6:15 AM.
32. March 5, 2009 2:20 AM. All black pup born to black mom on South Casa Beach. Night Watch guard, Greg Miles, named the pup Shadow. Pup is healthy and went swimming at 6:03 AM.
33. March 5, 2009 4:02 AM. Pup is silver with black spots and mom is brown/silver mother. This pup was named Mervin by a morning walker. Pup and mom bonded well, and went swimming around 7:15 AM.
34. March 5, 2009 5:12 AM. Pup is black with white spots and mother is brown. Pup was named Comet by Park & Recreation employee, Paul. Comet went swimming at 7:45 AM.
35. March 5, 2009 3:53 PM. Pup was named Madelaine. By 5:15, pup was swimming with its mother.
36. March 7, 2009 5:50 AM. The pup is silver colored, and the mom is brown mother.  Pup was named Sylva by a lady morning walker who saw the birth. 
37. March 8, 2009 7:03 AM. Silver/black pup born and a family from New Jersey named the pup Cosimo after their 5-year old son.  The birth occurred past the rope barrier.  Cosimo and mom went swimming at 8:52 AM.
38. March 9, 2009 6:10 AM. Pup’s birth was witnessed by an elderly couple who saw the birth and named the pup Miah (pronounced Maya) after their great grandson. Miah is a healthy pup, and went swimming at 7:20 AM. Pup was later separated from mom and abandoned, but was rescued by Sea World on March 16 after several unsuccessful attempts the previous day. Pup was released in the Pt. Loma kelp beds on April 24.
39. March 9, 2009 10:30 AM. Pup was born at 10:30 AM at South Casa Beach.  Pup was named Sugar and later hauled up at Casa Beach.
40. March 13, 2009 11:42 PM. Pup was named J.J. The pup is all black with a little bit of silver on its forehead, and mother is light brown with white spots. JJ stayed slept and nursed the whole night long, and went swimming shortly after 9:00 AM the next day.
41. March 15, 2009 10:10 PM. Pup was named Helena in honor of Cindy Benner’s 95-year-old mother, Helen.
42. March 17, 2009 7:10 AM. Pup was born on South Casa Beach. A woman photographer named the healthy silver-colored pup Paz (Peace in Spanish). the mom has distinct white patches on her chest and belly. This was the 4th birth on South Casa Beach.
43. March 24, 2009 7:50 PM. Pup was born close to the stairs and named

    Heidi at 2 Days Courtesy of Andrea Hahn

    Starlight by a lady visitor. The pup is dark brown like its mother.
44. March 29, 2009 6:31 AM. Misty Blue was born in low tide conditions in the middle of the beach, close to the water. The pup is all black and quite big. The mother is light brown with white spots on her chest and neck. She also has two distinct white spots above both eyes like eyebrows. Mom and pup went swimming at 7:35.
45. March 31, 2009 4:25 AM. Venice is black and quite large while mom is light brown with lots of white spots. Pup and mom went swimming at 6:10.
46. April 14, 2009. Between 2-4 PM. The pup is named Heidi after the Seal Watch volunteer who witnessed the birth. Heidi is all black; the mom is dark brown with big white spots and black circles (molting spots) around her eyes.