dr. suz and little orphan cranny

So I know not everything in life is a competition, least of all seal rescuing, but if there were an award for smallest fur seal ever, I would win it. Yesterday I pulled little orphan Cranny from her hidey hole in a bunch of rocks where the high tide had left her hours before. She weighed in at only 3.9 kg (that's 8.58 pounds, America) - a full tenth of a kilogram lighter than the smallest fur seal before her. I'm only guessing she's a girl cuz she's so darned petite. Since 15 out of 16 fur seals on site are boys, I wouldn't be surprised if I were once again wrong with my gender guessing.

I do know that Dr. Suz, named to celebrate my sister's birthday, is a boy. I didn't check the plumbing, but I'd bet money he's not a she. His voice is low, he's got a hint of sagittal crest, and he's polite and cooperative (so unlike his female counterparts). Of course, yesterday I also bet someone $5 that a rock was a sea lion, so I should probably keep my mouth shut.

Anyway, I also won for busiest day of the week, for the whole thing started with Straight Up, another sea lion I suspect is a boy. He was quite polite for treatment, but not so helpful this morning for transport. I can't blame him, he's so darned skinny he must feel pretty bad. I've got pictures of Straight Up, too, but they're just not as cute as those of Cranny and Dr. Suz. I've never found anorexia attractive - especially not in marine mammals.

Besides, Straight Up broke my beloved rescue net so I'm feeling a little bitter and powerless. With my net on the disabled list, I've been fooling around with other nets on the side. I can see now maybe we just weren't right for each other. My old net was light and breezy, willing to try anything, but ultimately he was too small, kinda wimpy, and every little hang up resulted in a scar. If I can get him fixed I'll keep him around for the occassional fling, but I'm in the market for a meatier tool. Whoever said size doesn't matter lied.