Good News and Bad News

Let's start with the bad news.

Bad news #1: The tag of 7718 never turned on. I'm sure he is off swimming, feeding, and doing all sorts of interesting things that I'll never know about because his tag didn't work.

Bad news #2: The tag of male 9930/ 9839 (same individual, two different IDs) has stopped transmitting.  His last location was uploaded on March 20, 2015.

Track of 9930/9839.  His last tag transmission was 03/20/2015.
The red dot is from his last known location.

Best case scenario: The antenna stopped working so it can't transmit information through the ARGOS satellite network.  But, maybe his tag is still recording so that when he comes back, we'll still be able to get data from his tag!  Fingers crossed, guys.

Okay scenario: His tag stopped working altogether, but he's still doing just fine out at sea and will come back to Ano Nuevo during the male annual molt (June-August).  We just won't have data for his trip.

Worst case scenario(s): A predator got him. Let's hope that didn't happen. Males tend to hang out in areas with more predators (white sharks, killer whales), so it's always a possibility.

Now, the good news!

Male 7717 is still transmitting and still being weird!  He continues to hang out right off the California coast, which is not typical male behavior.  All of our previously tagged adult males headed straight up the coast toward Canada/Alaska/the Aleutian Islands. At least the one guy whose tag is working is doing something very cool!

Track of 7717.  He's been continuing to hang out around
the Monterey Bay!

And, because I can, here's some pictures of an awesome 7717.

Male 7717 swimming offshore. Photo by Stephen Trumble. NMFS permit #14636.

Male 7717 sleeping on the beach at Ano Nuevo State Park. Photo by Stephen Trumble. NMFS permit #14636.