Adult Female Bonding

As May passes the mid-way mark, many of the adult females that have been quietly resting and bonding with other female beach-goers on their chosen female-only central California beaches have recently picked up the pace of their usual bickering and jostling.

Since resuming their argumentative tactics, I've been afforded numerous opportunities to capture many close-up photos immortalizing the amazing mouth and tongue actions of these feisty females.
Click here for these fascinating photos.

Now that most of the females have already shed their old and dried-out brown-colored fur, it seems as though the time is fast approaching for them to go fishing sporting their brand new sleek gray fur. Maybe their aggressive behavior signals that they're psyching themselves up in preparation for the tough hunting times in their immediate future.

Click here for photos of their current behavior.

If the scientists are correct, then all of these masses of adult females are pregnant once again, and the fetuses that they carry will now rapidly start to grow as the females get their fill of plenty of good seafood in their Pacific hunting grounds.

Even though scientists are of the belief that elephant seals don't eat when they come to the central coast of California, the strong fishy smell emanating from them is often very prevalent when they first come ashore. Judging by this fishy smell and my observations of the searching/hunting behavior elephant seals exhibit in the shallow coastal waters coupled with watching them snack on tide-pool inhabitants as well as seaweed strongly suggests to me that elephant seals do indeed eat, at least a little, while here.

Click here for video of female action.

As the females are readying themselves to 'push off', the sub-adult males are starting to show up but are remaining offshore well away from the nipping, feisty females. Instead of trying to share the beach with these aggressive females, they're choosing to stay a little ways out as they relax and keep track of who's approaching by doing their bottling maneuvers. ( Bottling is floating and keeping their noses pointing skyward. )

Masses of Rag-Tag Elephant Seals Occupy Central Coast Beaches

With most of this year's weaners having left in search of much yearned-for food, hundreds, maybe even thousands of brown-furred molting elephant seals of varying ages are swarming to their favorite beaches on the central coast of California. In fact, there seem to be many more elephant seals currently occupying these beaches than during the recently completed birthing/mating season.

Click here for photos of some of the current inhabitants.

The now relatively calm adult females, pregnant again, are trying to get some rest among the masses of brown bodies as they wait for the old fur to peel off and the new gray one to take its place as they undergo their catastrophic molt. The sexually immature females, on the other hand, can be seen hurriedly trying to stay out of the way of the young male elephant seals on the move.

Many of these young males from a couple of years old up to the youngest sub-adults, whose noses are starting to lengthen, are acting out their dominance fighting rituals both on land and in water.

Click here to see video of rock 'n' roll play-fighting.

Many of the 2- and 3-year-old youngsters are exhibiting what is known as scabby molt. This is not a true molt, but is believed to be a skin disease that afflicts some youngsters. On these elephant seals, it is not uncommon to see pink skin or even bleeding skin as the fur comes off.

Click here to watch video of graceful juveniles as they enjoy some carefree water time.

The only groups absent at this time are the older sub-adult males and the adult males. Some of the younger sub-adult males have started to come ashore, but the older ones will come in during May and June. Then in July and August, it’ll be turn for the adult males.

It is believed that each of the elephant seals coming here during this time will spend about one month ashore before heading back out to feed again.

Weaners on the Move

The weaned pups, AKA weaners, are definitely in the majority on the local elephant seal beaches as March passes St. Patty's Day and the First Day of Spring.

Click here for more photos of weaners.

Even though you might see plenty of weaners sleeping away their hours preserving precious stores of mom's fatty milk, you will also see many of these eager and curious youthful elephant seals bouncing around the beaches interacting with one another and honing their water skills in tide pools, creeks and the shallows. They are very social and very alert as they explore everything around them, constantly verbally communicating and often staring curiously at passers-by, human or otherwise.

Click here to see video of weaner activity on land.

Click here to see weaner activity in the water.

Starting to join these social groups of weaners are the first of the tan-colored yearlings as well as two-and three-year-olds. Even quite a few of the brown-to-tan colored adult females have ventured ashore after having replenished the weight lost during birthing, nursing, and mating.

Click here to see photos of other elephant seal goings-on.



From late March through June, large groups of youngsters and adult females will be populating the beaches of Elephant Seal Land to get some R and R during their month long stay, with some of them looking rather ragged as they endure the molting process.

The molting that elephant seals experience on a yearly basis is known as a catastrophic molt because they completely shed their old fur once their new gray one becomes ready for use.

Time for a Change

March is a time of change for the elephant seals as the crowded, noisy beaches of January and February have become almost empty of adults with only a few late-birthing moms, and a few tired, skinny but hopeful males, as well as some recuperating males still hanging around. The remaining brown-looking adult males are resting up and pooping as they prepare to leave to regain their lost weight, and maybe their lost pride as well. The remaining exhausted females are all too anxious to leave the attentions of these tired but unrelenting-in-their-sexual-efforts males and quickly regain their lost weight so they can start to nourish the new fetus in preparation for the next birthing season.

Click here for some of the last photos of adult males and females.


For the most part, however, most of these mainly skinny-looking males sporting still-healing battle wounds of scratches and tooth-marks are recuperating from this rather different birthing and mating season.
( The females seemed to be unusually bitchy, while the males seemed to be lacking in sufficient testosterone. Thus making successful mating rather a difficult proposition. )


Click here for photos of some the last matings of this season.

Towards the end of February, I was very fortunate to witness an amazing feat of strength and stamina on the part of one alpha male that went on a highly successful raid on a neighboring harem. Because of the length of the events, I split the video into two parts. Part 1 shows the lengthy fight where he temporarily banishes the reigning alpha male. Part 2 shows his triple mating !

Click here to see a shortened video of this lengthy 20/25-minute fight that took place towards the end of February. ( Very unusual at this time of the season )

Click here to see video of the triple mating.

As March moves along, it's the time for the weaners ( as the weaned pups are called ) to start fending for themselves.


The weaners are fun to watch as they try tasting varying objects on the beach, practice swimming in the creeks and/or tide pools, bicker amongst themselves, and spend plenty of time sleeping, preserving their mom-given fat-rich nourishing milk.

Click here for photos of young elephant seal weaners and almost weaners.

Keys to Successful Elephant Seal Mating

Despite their fierce reputation, elephant seal males are, for the most part, quite peaceable except for when it comes to territorial rights and mating.

Click here for recent photos of the current residents at Elephant Seal Land.

Male elephant seal dominance fighting is part of their disposition, and, for the most part, these battles are fought without rancor.

Prior to this birthing/mating season, I've hardly ever seen a truly angry male elephant seal. This year, however, tolerance and patience seem to have been somewhat short on a few occasions.

Click here for video of a some crabby males

Also, since the mating season is in full swing, I thought it a good idea to try to describe with words, photos, and videos what actually leads up to a successful union.

Click here for photos of mating.

Alpha Male or Beachmaster is the term given to the dominant male that 'owns' a certain segment of the beach with all its resident females, pups and weaners. This time of year is an extremely busy one for these large males as they make valiant attempts to mate with ALL of the females of their so-called harem. In between convincing their females to mate, these huge males can be seen galloping madly across the beach staunchly defending 'theirs' from any and all would-be intruding lovers.

Below are some tongue-in-cheek tips that might be handed down from father to son throughout the realms of Elephant Seals.

Advice for a Would-Be Lover

1. Sneak ashore. Hide amongst the females and pups. Don’t draw attention to yourself.

2. You may have to go ashore behind the back of the alpha. Use waves, rocks and other seals as cover.

3. Try to find a quiet female. ( Almost impossible )

4. Quickly try to mount when opportunity arises….but keep and eye and ear open for an irate advancing alpha. Always be prepared to flee. Know where your quickest path back out to sea lies.

5. Wait for alpha to get tired from exertion, then make your move.

Advice for the Alpha Male

1. Keep other males away by patrolling waters and chasing amorous intruders off beach.

2. Allow some large males on peripheries to chase off other would-be lovers. ( Saves your time and energy. )

3. Choose a compliant female. Stay away from feisty females who bite and struggle fiercely to escape. Also watch out for females that gang up on you.

4. Don’t get interrupted by other advancing males.

5. Herd escaping females back to shore.


Click here for mating videos.

Butterball Weaners

Despite the extraordinarily aggressive behavior of many of the moms this birthing season, most of the pups have flourished and many are now entering the stage of weanerdom. ( The pups are renamed weaners when the mom turns off the milk spigot after about 4 weeks of nursing and heads out to sea to feed and replenish her lost weight, leaving her offspring on shore to fend for itself. )

The biggest danger to the pups this birthing season has not been severe storms or amorous males looking to mate but the unusally pugnacious actions of many of the moms. These females have been quick to dash across several yards of beach to bite or even pick up and toss pups through the air with extreme regularity as can be evidenced by the large number of cuts and bite marks on nearly all the pups/weaners.



Maybe because the alpha males have successfully kept at bay what few love-struck males have tried to gallop across the beaches to mate with unwilling females, the nursing pups and their moms have largely remained uninterrupted over the bulk of the birthing season.

( It's not that the males intend harm to the pups, but their intrusions create unrest and force the moms and pups to keep moving around, cutting into nursing times and causing them to use up precious calories.)

Click here to see video of pups/weaners trying to wiggle their way out from under a huge bull.

In the photos, you can see how truly huge some of these weaners have become. Some of them have even almost attained the length of their moms in just a few short weeks of gorging themselves !
( Since so many of the weaners are big, round and comical this year, I feel tempted to nickname them butterballs.)

Click here for weaner and pup photos.

Nevertheless, in the last few days, more males have been starting to show up, and now the previously half-hearted mating attempts are getting more serious. At least these males are starting to achieve their goals with the now more complacent younger adult females before gettting run off the beaches by this year's more-than-usual protective alpha males or other large males intent on getting their share of the mating. ( Scientists claim that the females enter into estrus about 3 weeks after giving birth. )

Click here for photos of males in action.

Click here for video of various mating attempts.

Protecting Pups from High Tides

With the birthing season in full swing, I thought I should cover some of the ways the elephant seals try to protect their pups when huge ocean swells combined with high tides temporarily take over the beaches.

Some females often place themselves between their pup/s and the sea. Some try to find a high spot like a good bed of kelp. Some try to move up creek beds or low-lying bluffs. Some just keep moving around.

If a pup does get taken out by a surge, however, the next wave will usually bring it right back in. When a pup gets swept out, its frantic mom will usually dash off into the surf in search of her offspring to guide it back to shore. Not only do the moms take action but even the males can oftentimes be seen getting into the act of helping out by guiding the pups back towards shore.

Click here to see video from a recent high surge event.

Since I've been researching the elephant seals, I often hear misleading statements about various aspects of their behavior. Because of these many misconceptions, I've decided to voice my thoughts on some of these based on my observations.

Below are some of the beliefs that I believe should be addressed.

Belief #1: Pups can't swim
False: Pups can swim...after all they are marine mammals born with the innate ability to swim. However, they don't have the necessary blubber to keep them warm. So if they get taken out in the tidal surges too often during their first couple of weeks of life, the very chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean along the central coast of California can cause them to suffer from hypothermia. This, of course, causes an inability to move resulting in their drowning.

Belief #2: Males kill pups
False: The males I've observed over the past several years tend to show a lot of tenderness towards the pups and try to avoid running over them when they're moving at full charge. ( The few times I've seen a pup getting run over by a massive bull, the youngster has bounced right back up protesting loudly ! )

Belief #3: Females are highly protective of their pups
True: Most females go to great lengths to protect their pups from any perceived threat, such as anything/anyone encroaching within a few feet of them. This aggressively protective behavior can include going after pups separated from their moms and the milk supply. Some females will even go so far as to bite and/or remove other pups from their vicinity by tossing them into the air. On the other hand, some females will take on pups that they didn't give birth to and nurse and protect them.

Belief #4: Males will mount anything
True: All males except the most senior ones always seem to be ready to mount any size, any age, any sex elephant seal at any given time. Not that they ever get anywhere in these desires...it just seems to be a part of their nature.

Belief #5: Adult Male Elephant Seals are always extremely aggressive
False: Adult males are generally not aggressive. For the most part, they tend to be rather mellow. There are times, though, when the mood strikes, that they will charge and attack other males after a series of ritualistic aggressive moves. Even on land, they can move extremely fast and cover several hundred yards at a good clip. Although hard blows can be exchanged and blood drawn by bites from their long canine teeth, truly serious injury or death are not par for the course.

Belief #6: They throw sand on themselves to stay cool
False: The reasons elephant seals throw sand on themselves is no doubt multifold. However, the belief that it helps them stay cool doesn't seem all that logical. ( If they're really hot, there's plenty of cool water in the Pacific. ) From my observations, one of the primary purposes of covering themselves partially with sand is a signal to others to leave them alone. ( They may even believe that the sand makes them invisible much as the ostrich seems to feel when it buries its head in the sand. ) Females also throw sand in the face of an amorous male as a deterrent to keep him and his unwanted advances at bay. Thirdly, females often bury the afterbirth by tossing sand on it to hide from the raucous ever-hungry gulls.


Returning to this birthing season's happenings...more adult males have come in. Yet, for the most part, they're still in a very mellow mood this time around with major bouts of fighting not taking place, and many females have still to give birth.

Click here to see recent photos.