Sub-Adult Males Are Dominating the Beaches and Shallows

Alongside the tan-colored bodies of mainly younger elephant seals that have been adorning some of the beaches of the Piedras Blancas elephant seal colony on the central coast of California for the past couple of months, more and more sub-adult males can be seen as well as heard.

Many of the sub-adult males are showing up in a feisty mood and have been putting on spectacular minor pugilistic shows both on land and in the shallows of the bays.

( Equality in size doesn't seem to be important as you can often observe much younger elephant seals challenging more mature ones. )

From the day they're born, most male elephant seals seem to spend much of their waking hours trying to dominate others, both male and female.

( It would be interesting to know how far back their memories stretch as sometimes they sniff each other upon meeting and don't engage in any sort of superiority fight at all. Whereas, at other times, they either sniff one another and immediately start to fight, or don't sniff at all but start fighting with little or no warning. )

A few of these newcomers, on the other hand, appear to be enjoying themselves peacefully floating around, eyes closed, under the surface in the unusually clear bay water. Then, there are still others that appear to be searching around for something, maybe something edible, in the nooks and crannies of the rocks in the shallow coastal water.

Click here for video of sub-adult males enjoying life in Californnia.

No matter the time of year, each elephant seal season always has something truly fantastic to present to the human onlookers.

Click here for photos.

Click here for video of sub-adult males in dominance mode.

Mostly Adult Females

Almost all of the favored elephant seal beaches are so packed with the big adult female elephant seals that it's hard to spot any sand. Most of these pregnant female seals have finished molting for this season but are still resting up on the beaches before heading back out to sea to feed.

There are still a few juveniles also hanging around, but all this year's weaners have finally left on their first BIG foraging voyage.

The next group to come in mass to molt will be the sub-adult males. With so many adult females still enjoying our coast, beach space will be at a premium as the guys start to come ashore in larger numbers. In fact, one can already see and hear a few of these young males both in the water and on land.

Click here for more photos. ( Because we've had so many unusually calm days, many of the photos show the elephant seals doing their thing under water for a change. )

Click here for video of females relaxing in the tidal surges.

Click here for video of young male having a relaxing time in a bay.

Click here to see video of young males trying to make decisions.

Aggressive and Domineering Alpha Males in Action

Although off to a sleepy start earlier this season, the large adult males are now competing with the sub-adult males as to who can be more aggressive as the birthing season is getting into full swing.

Usually the large males wait for the females to enter into heat before attempting to mate. ( Three weeks after the pup is born, females are in heat for about a week. ) This year, however, it seems to be more about dominance, as males of all ages are attempting to take possession of any female or youngster on shore or in the shallows. This act of aggression/dominance is also happening to females who have just given birth.

Even though more females have come ashore, their numbers seem currently to be less than in years prior, whereas the males appear to be more than plentiful.

So far, the pups look robust and healthy, and their moms are doing a great job of fiercely protecting them from other elephant seals as well as the cold waters of the Pacific.

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Click here to check out my YouTube Elephant Seal Video Channel.

High Tides, Alpha Males, Few Adult Females

Similar to last year, this winter's incoming tides have once again, been extremely high, completely covering many of the beaches coveted by the elephant seals for the birthing season. Unlike this time last year, though, our storms have been of the tropical rain-drenching kind from the south, mixing with some southward bound chilly northern fronts.

Maybe the change in weather pattern is the reason why there are currently fewer pregnant adult female elephant seals on shore this early in the birthing season than in years gone by. As a result, there have so far only been a handful of births.

In contrast, there seem to be many more large adult male elephant seals in the extreme heavy-weight class, who, so far, appear to be much more mellow toward each other than in previous years at this time. For the most part, they've hung up the do-not-disturb signs and have been spending much of their shore-time sleeping instead of engaging in their traditional bloody, dragged-out fights over territory.

For those who like the excitement of elephant seal fights, some sparring sub-adult males can still be spotted tussling away here and there.

The few remaining tan-to-gold colored youngsters are spending their time sleeping, half-heartedly participating in their mock fights, or moving as fast as their small bodies will allow out of the path of the amorous large males.

For more photos, click here.

The Giants Are Starting to Go into Action

The famed giants of the elphant seal world are starting to sleep less and become more active on shore as fight time draws near. In fact, even a few threat-claps can be heard at dusk as these huge males prepare themselves for the inevitable battles over territory.

In the meantime, sub-adult males continue their often quite ferocious dominance battles in the bays of the pocket beaches as well as on land. In fact, gangs of six to eight sub-adult males can often be seen working together to antagonize smaller elephant seals.

The pregnant females do their best to stay well away from the warring factions trying to get plenty of rest in anticipation of their fast approaching birthing and suckling season.

Surprisingly enough, there are still quite a few weaners and other youngsters still hanging around the beaches resplendent in their golden-colored fur.

For more photos, click here.