Fall Haul Out Almost Over

As the middle of November is now but a memory, so will soon this year's Fall Haul Out be as the shore time for these elephant seals draws to a close.

Despite the fact that the end of November is in sight, quite a few youngsters can still be seen lazing around some of the beaches as well as some young males and a few pregnant females.

Click here for photos of some of the remaining vacationers.

But, as the birthing/mating season approaches once again, the large adult males will start returning to lay claim to a piece of what each one hopes is an ideal spot on the beach for yet another season. Returning too, will the very pregnant females as they beach-hop from one beach to another trying to determine which beach will best meet their needs for birthing and nursing and the inevitable mating.

Click here for video of young males doing their thing.

The Big Fellas Are Back

With just about all the females off hunting for food, older males are now venturing ashore on some of the beaches of the Piedras Blancas elephant seal colony.

Some of these large marine mammals are spending their days sleeping and resting while others are challenging rivals to dominance bouts both on land as well as in the shallows. Still others can be seen with their old brown fur beginning to peel off as it gets replaced by a spanking new gray one lying underneath the dried out brownish one.

Click here for photos of the current visitors.

The number of adult male elephant seals that are currently showing up on these beaches falls way short of the number of adult females that recently filled many of the beaches. In fact, there are only a few groups of adult males on only a few beaches.

Click here for video showing some group male action.

Oftentimes, hot air can be seen escaping the big mouths of the newly arrived males as they open wide to roar out a challenge to all and sundry.

Click here for some action video of roaring big males.

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. )

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.

Astronomical Tides Causing Problems

Abnormally high and low tides have created quite a problem for the elephant seals on some of the central coast beaches.

Click here for more photos of the latest characters.

Thanks to huge mounds of kelp raising the height of some small beaches though, small havens have been formed where youngsters and pregnant females can get some rest ahead of the fast approaching birthing and mating seasons. Not finding room on what precious beach land that is available during the high tides, many of the rather feisty younger adult males have often been forced to stay off-shore and conduct their preliminary dominance fights in the water rather than on land. And many have proved themselves very adept at dealing aquatic punishing blows without the support of solid land beneath them. ( Interestingly enough, it seems that when the sea is in turmoil the elephant seals tend to be more aggressive. )

Click here for video of action-packed sub-adult male elephant seals.


A few larger adult males have already made it to shore, but apart from one bloody adult male, most of them seem content to sleep in preparation for the upcoming territorial fights.

Click here for video of pregnant females doing their thing.

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.

High Tides with Big Wave Action

Recent extremely high fall tides along with huge swells have created much wave action agitating this year's younger elephant seal participants of the Fall Haul-Out on the smaller pocket beaches on the central coast of California.

Click here to see elephant seals in sudsy white sea-foam.

High surf has caused the deafening waves to come crashing ashore temporarily occupying the small pocket beaches where some of the elephant seals have been trying to get some R&R. With their much-prized sleep interrupted, the boisterous younger male elephant seals have been forced back into the unforgiving chilly rough waters of the Pacific.

Click here to see photos of elephant seals in the rough waves.

As a result, much of the inevitable sparring and other communication amongst the younger male elephant seals has been taking place in these choppy waters as the elephant seals ride the rollicking waves.

Current occupiers of the beaches along the central coast of California include young males from this year's weaners up to young sub-adults as well as females of assorted ages, with even some pregnant slightly older ones trying to rest up prior to the upcoming birthing season.

Click here to see video of these elephant seals in the waves.

To see even more action photos, click here.

Continuing Fall Haul-Out

As the Fall Haul-Out continues, seaweed seems to be a huge favorite amongst the seafaring youngsters. Time and again, one can see young elephant seals twirling, shaking, and swallowing colorful pieces of different kinds of seaweed. To what end, you might ask ? Maybe the energetic youngsters are consuming their nutritional veggies ?

Energetic young males on high alert in the shallow bay waters, often keep pace with people walking along the bluffs....probably trying to determine if these people are a threat/challenge to them. Once they decide that these curious land-mammals are not intent on engaging them, the youngsters return to their own boisterous activities.

A few more mature young females can now also be spotted catching some R&R amongst the pale tan-colored younger elephant seals on the beaches.

Soon the eager-to-engage-in-dominance-fights older young males will also be showing up for their turn at the Fall Haul-Out at Elephant Seal Land on the central coast of California.

Click here for more photos.

Versatile Fore-Flipper Action

When I first started reseaching the central coast elephant seals, I was told that they hardly use their fore-flippers at all. However, having observed, photographed and videotaped them for a few years, I find I have to disagree.

These human-like 'hands' are constantly in use both on shore and in the water. Some of their land uses include, the obvious scratching of various parts of their body...batting away an unwanted intruder....using the long nails as a sharp retaliatory weapon...clasping an antagonistic eseal in a hugging motion....helping haul the ungainly-on-land body across rocks and sand.

Then there's the water. Recently, I have been fortunate enough to witness and videotape how they use their fore-flippers in a rather human-like way as they bottle and twirl around in the coastal bays.

Bottling is where they seem to be floating vertically in the water but are actually arching their upper torso upright and backwards. They hold this position by moving their fore-flippers in a circular motion much as synchronized swimmers would do with their arms and hands to stay upright.

What is the purpose of bottling ? This arching of the upper torso in the water, which seems to only be carried out by male elephant seals, obviously helps them quickly discern who's approaching both above them on the beaches and the bluffs as well as in the water. Bottling seems to be the action of choice when the males of all ages first come to the coastal waters. After that it seems to be more of a sporadic event. Apart from finding out who their immediate compadres and competition are, maybe they're also preparing and strengthening their fore-flippers for the switchover to land movement. After all, for the huge adult males, hauling a couple of tons of blubber across land at the high speed of 10+ m.p.h. is no mean feat !

Watch this video as they use their fore-flippers in an almost human or dophin-like way in their aquatic maneuvers.

Click here for photos showing fore-flipper versatility.

Elephant Seal Seasons at Piedras Blancas, CA

To find out when which elephant seals are at the Piedras Blancas colony on the central coast of California, you should take a look at my newly released ebook at Smashwords.com. The straight-forward descriptions provide ample information, and the accompanying high quality color photos of these fascinating marine mammals complete the picture.

Click here for direct link.

You can also watch this promo video on my YouTube Channel, Elephant Seal Action Videos. Click here to find out more about this book.

Keep an eye out for hardcopies that will soon be available on Amazon.com.

Hope you find this informative.

The Start of the Fall Haul-Out

As almost all the big adult male elephant seals have left to fortify their strength and body weight in preparation for the up-coming December territorial fights, the beaches along the central coast of California are currently occupied by only a few dozen mainly tan-furred youngsters doing their thing.

As September heads towards October in this Fall Haul-Out season, however, more and more elephant seals in the younger age brackets will be looking to enjoy spending some quality shore-time on these usually noisy and busy beaches.

Adding to the mix of weaners and yearlings as we go through October, energy-filled ‘teenage’ males will be charging ashore delighting onlookers with their rock-’n’-roll style fights. In addition, alongside these combative youngsters, a few pregnant young females will also be trying to get some shore-rest on the ‘quiet side of town’ away from the boisterous young males.


Click here see video of a young elephant seal wrestling seaweed.

Click here to see more photos.

Molting and Sparring Adult Male Elephant Seals

The hugely popular giant seafaring mammals, the adult male elephant seals, are once again coming to the local beaches on the central coast of California. Reaching 15 or so feet in length and weighing in the neighborhood of 3+ tons, they are convening here mainly to rest and molt, with the inevitable bouts of dominance sparring interrupting their noisy snores and snorts.

Click here to see video of these molting giants.

However, these giants of the sea do not seem as well-fed this year as the recently departed adult females. For many, their skin seems too big and wrinkled instead of being plumped out by several inches of insulating blubber. Since many appear to be on the skinnier side, they'll have to broaden their foraging hunt after completing their molting in order to be at full strength and weight for the intense fights for the rights to a piece of beach territory in December.

In contrast, some of the well-fed younger adult males can be seen eagerly sparring on land or in the water amongst these currently rather lethargic heavy-weight leviathans.

Here and there, an early-arrived yearling can already be spotted snoozing on the sandy beaches.

Click here to see plenty of photos of large males doing what they do best.

Molting Time for Females and Juveniles

The first group of elephant seals to return to the beaches on the central coast of California to start their molt are the adult females. Pregnant once more, and having regained their lost weight during the recent birthing/mating season, they have once again taken over their favorite beaches in order to rest and shed their old fur, which has become tan-colored over time. Some of these adult females are really huge...close to 10 feet in length and looking rotundly healthy after only having been absent for a month. It's hard to believe that they left about a month ago looking thin and worn out.

The catastrophic molt, as it's called, takes close to one month to complete. During this time the 'old' fur and attached skin comes off in large pieces so that the new sleek gray fur can be exposed and readied for 'duty'. During this changeover, the elephant seals seem more sensitive to heat than otherwise and can be seen lying either at the water's edge or swimming in the cool Pacific waters if the mercury starts to rise.

At this time, since there are no large males around, the adult females are the dominant ones on the beaches. Amongst these constantly bickering females, one can also see molting juveniles of both sexes and quite a few newly-arrived weaners that are beach-hopping their way to the hunting grounds.

One- and two-year-old elephant seals sometimes suffer from scabby molt, believed to be a skin disease rather than a true molt. ( Click here to read more. )

As April proceeds, sub-adult males will start to come ashore to start the molting period.

Click here for current photos.

Pups Becoming Weaners

All but the last few exhausted mommy elephant seals have left to replenish their rapid weight loss which took place during their month-long shore sojurn. Giving birth and suckling their pups without possibility of leaving land for about 28 days to get some sustenance caused them to lose about 1/3 of the body weight they had when they first came ashore this winter.

The pups, most of whom are more than chubby this year, have been renamed weaners, weaned from suckling, and their only adult protection now is from some of the remaining large males.

Many of these weaners hang out in varying-sized groups known as weaner-pods. Whether they do so for safety in numbers, for comfort from physical closeness to others, for warmth, for the social aspect or what, the scientists are not sure. One thing is sure, though, their interactions with one another are often hilarious to watch.

Over the next month or so, the black/brown pup fur will be exchanged for the eye-catching silver gray fur that's specific for the weaners during their first year. Like all sea-going creatures, their new backside fur is darker than their belly fur, making them less visible to their predators in the ocean.

During their first month as weaners, they will start exploring the shallow tide-pools and/or creeks honing their vital foraging, swimming and diving skills. In so doing, they often get caught up in the ocean currents and land up, intentionally or otherwise, at a different beach, which I call this beach-hopping.

My next posting will deal with the adventures of maturing weaner.

Click here for more photos.

Mating Season

Even though there are still quite a few young pups sticking close to their protective moms, more and more females are coming into heat as their pups pass the three-week-old mark.

Many of these females are still displaying feisty behavior struggling to free themselves from ardent males by twisting and turning and even placing some good nips on the male's sensitive trunks or ripping at the cornified chest shields. ( The females seem to rule the roost ! )

Click here to see video of mating.

As this year's suckling phase nears its end, thinner than usual females seem impatient to quickly leave their fast maturing pups and head back out to sea to find some much needed nourishment to replenish their weight loss.

However, the male elephant seals, and there are an unsual amount of them this year, are insisting on trying to mate with as many of these obviously exhausted females before the 'gals' leave on their much-needed rejuvenation trip.

( Maybe because the weather has been unusally sunny and warm and the traditional foggy mornings and evenings absent, many of the elephant seals seem more drained than in other years.)

The BIG alpha males, the ones that won the hotly-contested territorial fights, are still jealously guarding their harems of females that are still ashore. Many of these large beachmaster males have intensified their determined dashing up and down the beaches over the past couple of weeks, as more and more uninvited amorous suitors keep trying to sneak ashore after playing the patient alligator in the shallow coastal water. Interestingly, the smarter alphas on the smaller beaches, can be seen exchanging the exhausting land patrol for the much easier and more efficient swim patrol in the shallow waters when the tidal water is high enough. Rocks that protrude above the surface of the shallow water are used to hide behind both by the protector and the intruders.

An amorous intruder might try to sneak quietly undetected by the alpha male up to a group of females, making himself as flat and unobstrusive as possible. To no avail. The females will soon make loud deep barking sounds to alert their protector, the big alpha male. This heavy-weight of all heavy-weights will then come rushing over to convince the uninvited suitor to remove himself. Sometimes, the suitor dashes off to another beach via the sea, or he'll just move off a little ways and wait for the opportunity to try again.

Some would-be suitors are not so subtle and attempt to physically challenge the resident head-honchos. This challenge usually ends very quickly with the wishful mater-to-be being chased off the beach with little or no physical contact.

Click here to see more photos.

The Elephant Seal Mom

As soon as the pup is born, bonding takes place between mom and pup by each smelling the other, and in so doing, imprinting each other’s scent, the only sure way to ID one another in the melee of the elephant seal colony. ( The rather helpless newborn is completely dependent on its mom for survival.)

The immediate main mission of the mom for the following 28 days is to PROTECT her pup at all costs. To this end, she likes to keep a clear space around her and her not-too-swiftly moving pup to help in the defense against aggressive seals of either sex. ( To the eager onlooker, it appears as though the moms are continually bitching and then quickly turning to reassure themselves that their pup is OK.)

Click here to see video of bickering females.

If a prospective male suitor comes over to mate with an unready and unwilling mom, she tries to lure this ardent guy away from the vicinity of her pup by wiggling her tail-end and acting as though she wants to mate. Once lured over to her, the would-be-mate finds his advances are not welcome as the come-hither wiggling stops, sand is flung in his face, and he will probably also get some sharp nips from the protective mom before she hurries back to her pup.

Another problem the mom has to guard against is her dependent pup being run over by large males charging frantically across the beach trying to escape being attacked by other large males.

Click here to see video of male charging across crowded beach.

The icy tidal Pacific Ocean water is yet another danger to the newborn as too much cold water will chill the pup to the bone and can even lead to death.

Intruders on the birthing beach that the moms try to keep at bay, include raucous and bold gulls as well as the occasional coyote looking for a quick meal of tasty pup.

The other important side to being an elephant seal mom is to get the pup to suckle. If the hungry pup has problem locating the milk supply on the huge body of the female, the mom will use a fore-flipper to keep the pup from heading up towards her head instead of going down towards her tail end where her teats are.

Sound-wise moms and pups communicate almost constantly, but if a mom wants the pup to be quiet, she will even cover the pup’s head with her mouth.

The female emits distinctly different sounds for different situations. For example: the deep bark is a warning sound whereas a series of high-pitched almost staccato sounds indicate anxiety.

Click here to listen to an anxious female.

Click here to listen to female's warning bark.

For more photos, click here.

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.

Click here for more photos.

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.

Fall Haul-Out Continues

As the Fall Haul-Out for 2010 continues, different elephant seals keep coming ashore for some R&R while those that have already spent close to a month on land leave in search of food.

After the young male elephant seals have recovered from their trip to the central coast beaches of California, they start their fights for dominance.

However, the female elephant seals of all ages that come ashore at this time of year do so to get some rest trying to keep their distance from the young and actively aggressive young males.

Expectant onlookers can almost always be assured of being witness to the varying shows of aggression provided by the young male elephant seals in their almost continual fights for dominance both on land and in the water.

All too soon, however, these younger elephant seals will be off to sea again looking for more food. Then, in about six weeks, the big male elephant seals will start to come ashore and the battles for temporary territory will begin.

For more photos, click here.

August at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Colony

Most of the adult male elephant seals have completed their catastrophic molt, and many have already 'set sail' for their feeding grounds in order to gain the necessary bulk for their winter stay of about 3 months starting in December.

Early though it is, a few weaners and yearlings have already come ashore for their fall haulout, joining the remaining adult males.

As we progress toward September, more and more youngsters as well as adult females and young males will come ashore to rest for about a month before setting off to feed again.

To see more photos, click here.