POOR RAT
I was on Ano Nuevo Island for the 1970-71 and 1971-72 breeding seasons. In those days it was imperative for us to be able to identify as many individual males as we could and critical that all the major players - the biggest bulls - were marked as soon as they came ashore.
There is a wonderful photo, one of the Science covers, that shows Burney apparently shoving a microphone on a long pole into a big bull's mouth. Well that supposed microphone is actually a paint roller and instead of Burney recording his vocalization, he is going to whack the bull in his snout with a glob of paint to identify him. Sorry again, Burney.
When a big bull came ashore on Area 3A (I think it was in December of 1970) the color of the day was yellow. I think it was Ron Whiting who took our stout aluminum pole and smacked the bull right on his nose, leaving a highly visible yellow mark, at least for the time being.
Paint generally lasted for a week or two but to follow an animal for the full three-month breeding season we needed a more permanent mark and a name. More about these markings and namings in a later posting, but suffice it to say that the bull with the yellow nose was named RAT.
As I remember RAT, he was a large bull and very mature with a rough chest shield and an admirable snotter, but he was not as stout as some of the other bulls. He may not have had a good season at sea, as he was not as fat, for example, as the bull above, but he was game.
Now at this point in the story it is important for those of you who do not have an intimate knowledge of an elephant seal's male member to know that it is endowed with a stiff bone called a baculum or os penis. The baculum is not attached to other bones, but floats free and acts to assure rigidity when it is required, which can be quite often in a seal harem. An elephant seal's penis is only rarely visible as it is concealed within the body when not needed and shows only a small opening externally.
RAT was not an alpha male, but probably a third or fourth-ranked bull consigned to the periphery of the densely packed harem on area 17. One bright, sunny day when most of the animals had covered themselves with sand and fallen asleep, RAT saw his opportunity, sidled up to a willing-looking female and began to ply her with his charms. She did not object but rather accepted his amour - and his baculum stiffened penis - without protest. As a subordinate bull, opportunities such as this are limited and RAT was deep in the rapture of his uncommon success when his liaison was abruptly interrupted by an unseen rival who had stealthily approached from his blind side.
RAT's conjugal ecstasy instantaneously changed to a primal fear known only to inferior male elephant seals. As blows rained down on his vulnerable backside, he attempted to flee his attacker without separating from his partner who, from the momentum of his flight turned a complete somersault before they parted.
Unfortunately his acrobatic disengagement from his beloved damaged his penis and he was unable to retract it into the safety of his body. As his attacker relentlessly pursued him RAT repeatedly slammed his entire two-ton bulk down on his damaged member most likely fracturing his baculum. Those of us males watching from the Area 17 blind winced and crossed our legs.
RAT finally made it to the sea with a badly damaged dick and several bleeding wounds on his back. The next day we saw his yellow head and nose bobbing like a buoy in the channel off Area 17, but after a couple of days floating off the beach, he disappeared, never to be seen again.