elephant seals and fried smelt

saturday was filled with life from the sea.

we joined chris and olivia at the año nuevo state park for a long-awaited walk amongst the mating and fighting elephant seals. it was pretty awesome. elephant seals are monster sea mammals which come to the california coast every winter (males weigh in at 5000 lbs, and females 1500 lbs). the females arrive pregnant, and give birth within 10 days. the pups are weaned within 6 weeks (after gaining some 300 lbs). the males arrive at the same time and vie for mating privileges. when alpha males have asserted their dominance, they will mate with a harem of 50 females. no one but the pups are eating during their time on land, and the males will lose up to 1000 pounds during this 2 month period. the females leave in early spring to return to the deep pacific to feed, while the males leave soon thereafter to feed near the aleutian islands in alaska. the weaned pups hang out on the beach, learning to swim and forage, and finally head out alone. the following december, they all come back to the same beaches and do it all over again.

as a storm brewed just off shore and blew sand in our eyes, we stood atop dunes to watch the daily activity of hundreds of elephants seals. we saw mating and fighting, heard male elephant seals' deep loud roars and the little monkey-like chirps of the pups, and felt threatened when a male elephant seal charged toward us. our fearless docent, bob, protected us with wisdom and clever jokes.

here are some pictures.

an alpha male surrounded by his harem. the huge seals in the background are other non-alpha males looking for an opportunity to slip into the harem unnoticed. good luck, pal.


a male seal who has not earned the right to mate this season hangs out in the dunes, making loud and low noises that sound like a harley davidson starting.

an alpha males sports a winning look in old rain pants and new binoculars. yes, that is duct tape.

here is video showing three males angrily chasing one another around the beach, bellowing as only a male elephant seal can, and then suddenly collapsing with exhaustion after their short aggressive sprint. the staccato sound of deep hollow rumbling (as if a large pvc pipe is being repeatedly assaulted) is the noise the males make when feeling feisty. the big proboscis plays a role in this noise-making. that's all we know. and, no, they don't "initiate it by biting the neck."


here is a photo of the whole group, looking satisfied with the morning at ano nuevo.

after all this wildlife observation, we headed inland for lunch in pescadero. we stopped at the storied duarte's tavern. we highly recommend the cream of artichoke soup and the fried smelt.