Bulls, pups battle as elephant seals return to US park
Each winter, approximately 10,000 elephant seals travel to California’s Ano Nuevo State Park to fight, mate and give birth.
The show runs from mid-December to March and attracts wildlife watchers eager to see the largest seals on the planet.
During what park doctor Laura Stern calls “pupping season”, bull seals, some of which reach 4.9 meters in length and weigh up to 2.5 tons, engage in bloody battles to provide breeding opportunities for females.
“So most of the seals return to the beach where they were born. Not all of them do, but most of them do,” Stern said.
“And we have about 10,000 elephant seals coming to Ano Nuevo.”
Elephant seals were hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, and their blubber was used to make oil.
By 1892, fewer than 100 animals remained on a small island off California’s Baja coast.
Recognizing the crisis, the Mexican government granted legal protection to the species in 1922, which was soon followed by protection in the United States.
Today the population has grown to an estimated 250,000 seals living in the Pacific.
“There’s a genetic bottleneck because they all come from the same age of 30 to 60. But so far they’re doing really well and we haven’t had any problems,” Stern said.
Located about 90 minutes south of San Francisco, Ano Nuevo State Park is one of the largest mainland breeding rookeries on the West Coast.
During the calving season, many visitors book guided walks with a guide so they can watch long-nosed bull seals clash on the shore, hear the barks and bellows that fill the seaside air, and spot the mother’s well-groomed, 34kg pups in the dunes.
“It’s awe-inspiring,” said Carrie Kahn, who visited the park from Berkeley, California.
“And you’re just wondering how they move from point A to point B? They look very slow. But they’re fast and big and they honk and make noise.”
Male elephant seals have the highest testosterone levels of all mammals, Stern said.
“So they want to mate, they want to fight, they want to eat, they want to press the repeat button,” he said.
“You’re not in a museum. You’re not in an aquarium. Here you’re watching them live, doing what they do.”
No tour is required to visit the seals at Ano Nuevo State Park between April and November.
During the calving season, visitors must reserve a spot on a guided walk to see the seals.
