This time of year is all about weaners ( AKA weaned elephant seal pups )on the beaches of the central coast of California.
With almost all of the females departed out to sea to forage and regain the pounds lost during their birthing and mating time ashore, the weaners are now having to learn how to take care of themselves.
The weaners are not completely without adult supervision though as some watchful and protective adult males remain on the beaches until the weaners get more proficient at swimming and start beach hopping.
Newly weaned weaners, like the older elephant seals, spend a lot of time sleeping while on shore as they're conserving energy and subsisting on their blubber.
As the weaners grow restless however, they spend less and less time sleeping and more time moving around the beaches and bluffs and communicating with each other. Also, as time passes, they start honing their life-essential swimming and foraging skills.
If weaners are to survive and grow to adulthood, it's imperative that they quickly learn how to find food and protect themselves both on land and at sea.
Click here for more photos.
Click here to go to my elephant seal website.
Great post! Love the closeups of the pups. Intrigued by the baby sea-lion walking along the beach. When sea-lions are young, are they light enough to actually walk?
ReplyDeleteActually, they do walk quite well and can move very fast.
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