Time for the Yearlings

With only a couple of large male elephant seals still on the beach, the emphasis now is on this year's weaners and two- and three-year olds as they hustle ashore to begin their Fall Haul-Out rituals.

Like the older elephant seals, they joust, albeit with less ferocity, disturb each other for a variety of reasons, sleep, and swim in the shallows.

When the older elephant seals come shore, they usually spend quite a bit of time in deep sleep. The younger ones, however, seem to be more filled with vim and vigor !

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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.

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Adult Male Elephant Seals Molting and Jousting

Now is the time of year when the adult male elephant seals show up at the beaches at Piedras Blancas on the central coast of California to molt and eagerly participate in many of the jousts/fights which occur whenever the males congregate during their shore-times.

These fights, which are mainly for domination, begin when they're pups of just a few weeks old and continue throughout their lives.

Day by day, more and more of the huge adult males are making their way up onto the sandy beaches, sometimes having to fight their way ashore to obtain a prime spot.

The males go through a ritualistic series of specific motions before seriously physically attacking another male. At this time of year however, the fights are neither prolonged nor severe as the males need to conserve energy for the month's long stay ashore to complete their annual catastrophic molt.

Sometimes they fight for another spot on the beach, or to move up the ladder of hierarchy, or just to prove who's more macho. No matter the reason, these jousts/fights are not anywhere near as bloody as the ones that take place for territorial rights in the winter.

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Unusual Amount of Adult Female Elephant Seals

Strangely enough, as we near the middle of May, the amount of adult female elephant seals ashore to molt still seems to be increasing.

( Unconfirmed sources claim that there are many more adult females on the beaches at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal colony this year than in previous years.)

Maybe due to the extreme overcrowding on the part of the adult females, the remaining few of this year's weaners can only be observed on the small pocket beaches that the adult females have chosen not to occupy.

Another point of interest is that the vast majority of juvenile elephant seals also appear to be female this year instead of having about a 50-50 mix.

True, a few juvenile males can be seen mock sparring on the beaches and in the shallows. A couple of sub-adult males can also be found roaring on the beach or in the shallows.

If I were a scientist, I would be wondering why there not only seems to be far fewer juvenile male elephant seals to date this spring, but why the usual male competetiveness also seems to be absent.

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Catastrophic Molt

Prime beach space is beginning to be hard to find as more and more large elephant seals work their way up onto the beaches to join the already present weaners. These weaners, who are further honing their swimming, diving, and foraging skills now have to try to stay out of the way of the older elephant seals as hierarchy rules.

Over the last couple of weeks both adult female elephant seals as well as juvenile males ( juvenile male = 1-4 years old ) and juvenile females ( juvenile female = 1-2 years old ) have been crowding onto the beaches of central California to begin their annual catastrophic molt. ( The sub-adult males and adult males will come a little later on for their turn.)

What is a catastrophic molt ? Over a period of many months, elephant seal fur changes color from a gray to dark brown to a lighter brownish hue or even a pale tan.

Maybe this change in fur pigment indicates that the fur becomes less oily over time causing the elephant seal to shed its fur and attached skin about once a year. Also, maybe because the elephant seal spends so much of its life in the salty ocean water, its fur simply has to be replenished as the salts dry it out. Another factor might be that as the elephant seal expands both in length and in girth, it needs to shed its outer layer much like a snake does.

The fur and skin peel off in both larger and smaller pieces revealing the fresh new layer of gray fur below. ( See extra photos.)

During the month this molt takes to complete, scientists believe the molting elephant seals eat nothing even though they often enter the ocean during this period.

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Weaners Swimming and Foraging in the Creeks, Tide-Pools and Ocean

The active weaners are now engaged in their all-important water skills such as swimming and foraging as they hone their skills and beach-hop up and down the central California coast.
These days, the weaners are not spending quite as much time sleeping on the beaches conserving energy. Instead, they're proving they are just about as adept in the water as their older relatives.
In the extra photos, you can see some of the antics that these busy youngsters get up to on a regular basis.

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Weaner Time

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.

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